


Sound of the Sunset

by theworldthatneverwas (FlightlessPhoenix)



Series: A Place to Belong [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Aromantic, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, POV Second Person, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:23:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 63,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22790149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlightlessPhoenix/pseuds/theworldthatneverwas
Summary: What if you and Ephemer had spent a year getting to know each other before he disappeared? What if you and Skuld had had more time to become friends before the Keyblade War? A slightly canon-divergent AU with an overdose of fluff, friendship, and found family.
Relationships: Ephemer & Player Character (Kingdom Hearts), Ephemer (Kingdom Hearts) & Reader, Player Character & Skuld (Kingdom Hearts), Skuld (Kingdom Hearts) & Reader
Series: A Place to Belong [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1638412
Comments: 80
Kudos: 172





	1. Prologue

_I've been having these weird thoughts lately_

_Like, is any of this for real? Or not?_

“We… we need to get them away from the battlefield. To the rest of the Dandelions.” Ephemer's voice shakes a little. He’s still holding your hand even though you passed out from exhaustion several moments ago. The gauntlets of your keyblade armour are scratched and caked in mud, proof of the battle that took place here so recently. 

Beside him, Skuld nods. She crouches down and picks up the helmet next to you, the symbol of a snake upon the top gleaming faintly in the dim light. The metal is cold and slick from the thunderstorm that had ravaged this area just moments ago. “And…” she begins, looking unsure, “I guess we’ll need to get rid of the armour. So they don’t remember.” It’s been so long since Skuld has seen Ephemer, but now that they’re here together there doesn’t seem to be anything to say. Or perhaps there are so many things to say that it’s impossible to organize them in a coherent manner.

Setting down your hand at last, Ephemer stands and summons his Starlight keyblade to open a portal behind you, casting soft white light onto the scene.

Skuld reaches down to pat your Chirithy, who’s still lingering at your side. “You did really good, Chirithy,” she says, looking fondly at the cat-like creature. “We might not have made it in time without your help.”

Chirithy’s eyes crinkle with happiness at the praise. “What’s gonna happen now?” they ask.

“It’s your job next,” Ephemer says to Chirithy, kneeling down and positioning one arm under your back and one under your knees. With an audible grunt of effort, he manages to pick you up. The keyblade armour you’re wearing digs into his arms and chest, weighing you down, and he already looks a little strained with the effort. Skuld hurriedly moves to try to help but he shakes his head at her. “Just go,” he says, motioning with his chin to the portal. She tucks your helmet under her arm and picks up your Chirithy before stepping through, Ephemer right behind her.

The trio emerge onto a grassy cliffside, the speckled purple rooftops of the town below visible clustered in the distance. It’s just after dusk, and the grey sky overhead threatens more rain. Ephemer sets you down carefully onto the grass. 

“Is this outside Daybreak Town?” Skuld asks, setting Chirithy down as well. 

“Yeah,” Ephemer pants, his fingers feeling along the edge of your gauntlet for a clasp so he can take it off. “Just outside the meeting place. We should be able to get to the other worldline again from here.”

Skuld kneels down beside you as well and helps remove the keyblade armour pieces. Usually a wielder can simply dismiss the armour themselves, but circumstances mean that this is the only option. Skuld gazes at the armour pieces once they finish, a frown tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Will they remember?” she asks quietly, looking over at Chirithy. 

Chirithy’s ears are flat against their head and their expression is determined. “I'm doing my best,” they say. “The Dandelions need to forget the war so they can start over, right?”

Skuld gives a small smile and nods at the tiny Dream Eater. She turns to Ephemer. “Let’s get them through to the other Daybreak Town as soon as we can. You have somewhere to be, don’t you? We shouldn’t linger so Chirithy can do their job.” She has a feeling she knows where he needs to go.

Ephemer seems surprised at her perceptiveness. “I do, but…” he begins, and his hand closes around something hidden underneath his red scarf. There's exhaustion and worry and deep affection on his face as he looks at your unconscious figure on the grass. 

She'd expected something like this when she first learned about you, discovered the reason her fellow party member never seemed to be around after missions. But there will be time for reunions later. There's too much to be done right now. 

“It’s okay, Ephemer,” she says gently. “We’ll make sure they’re all right first.”

Skuld moves aside your Keyblade armour and helps Ephemer pick you up once again, then summons her own Keyblade. Chirithy braces themself, holding onto Skuld’s boot, and after ensuring she has a grip on both you and Ephemer, Skuld opens a keyhole, transporting the four of you away into the light.

The fountain plaza they arrive in looks identical to the one they left behind, nestled in the heart of Daybreak Town, only this time the sky is a clear, cloudless blue-grey with a hint of orange streaking the horizon. Dawn – or perhaps it would be more fitting to call this time of day daybreak. Ephemer shifts his grip on you and they begin climbing up the stairs that lead away from the plaza, towards the rows of purple-roofed houses that line the cobblestone streets. Skuld, the more skilled of the two of them with magic, casts a tricky Zero Gravity spell on you to help reduce the weight on Ephemer. With her help, he manages to carry you all the way to your residence, setting you down on top of your bed. Chirithy jumps up onto the covers beside you, hopping this way and that.

“You’ll take care of them, won’t you Chirithy?” Ephemer studies your Dream Eater carefully.

“Of course!" Chirithy lays a tiny paw on your arm. 

"Good," Ephemer says, nodding. "We're counting on you." He looks up at Skuld, pressing his lips together. "Maybe we could…" 

She puts a hand on his shoulder. "They'll be all right. Trust me. We've done everything we can."

He seems to see something in Skuld's gaze that makes him trust her words, and he nods. "Make sure…" His eyes study your face, eyebrows pushed together, worry lining his forehead beneath his silver-white curls. "...Take care of them," he finishes. 

Skuld glances down at your Chirithy. "How much will they remember?" she asks. 

"With time, none of it," Chirithy says, bouncing from one foot to the other. They approach you and lay a tiny paw on your shoulder. "Anything relating to the war will be gone, like a forgotten dream." 

"They won't…" Ephemer begins, and a strange look comes across his face as though he feels foolish for voicing his thoughts but is unable to help the words from slipping out, "they won't forget meeting me, right? Or meeting Skuld?" 

"Of course not!" Chirithy insists, turning to him. "Memories with friends are powerful. I can leave those in."

His shoulders relax a little at the Dream Eater's words. "Thank you, Chirithy. I don't know what we'd do without you." 

Chirithy beams up at him, then all their gazes are drawn to your resting form as you furrow your eyebrows slightly. "You should go," Chirithy says to them, gesturing at you. "I'll be here when they wake up. I can explain things better if it's just me."

Skuld and Ephemer exchange a look and nod, then step out into the hallway outside your bedroom. Skuld turns back to your Chirithy. "See you again soon," she says, and follows Ephemer down the stairs to stand on your front step. 

"We'll see them again before long," Skuld reassures Ephemer, noting the way he gazes back at your house, like he regrets leaving. 

He sighs and turns to her. "I know. It's just been such an exhausting day and I wish…I wish I could do things over again differently. Not just today. Leaving without telling you anything, too. It was selfish of me. I should have trusted you more." He looks wearier than she's ever seen him while he was still in her party, his normally bright and happy expression gloomy and tired. "I'm really sorry, Skuld." 

She tries to force a smile. "Hey, don't get all sentimental on me now," she says lightly. "There's a lot of work to be done. You can make it up to me later." 

One corner of his mouth twitches upward in an almost-smile. "You're right. I need to go, but I'll see you again soon. Thanks, Skuld." 

"Of course." She watches as he summons his keyblade and vanishes into the light, then walks down to the fountain plaza to clear her head. So much has happened in the last twenty-four hours it's hard to wrap her head around it. She sits for a moment on the fountain wall, watching as the sky slowly brightens to a pastel pink. What she wouldn't give to be able to sit here a little longer, to enjoy the beginning of a new day and forget about the tragedy they'd so narrowly escaped. But she's lingered here long enough. She summons her keyblade to take her back to the other Daybreak Town and finds that Ephemer has already cleared away your keyblade armour, which they'd left on the grass earlier. She raises her keyblade once more to summon another portal. There's somewhere she needs to be, and she has a pretty good idea of at least one person she'll find waiting there. The portal opens before her, bright and welcoming - a stark contrast to the place she'll be returning to. She steps into the light, vanishing just as a rumble of thunder echoes threateningly overhead. 

* * *

_Ephemer… Skuld…_

Memories swirl through your mind, jumbling together, seeming to trickle through your grasp as you reach out to them. A horrible, gut-wrenching sadness takes hold of you and you can’t recall where it came from. Images flash across your closed eyelids -- keyblades, other wielders, the Foretellers’ masks, a crystal heart floating towards the heavens. Your friends, their faces lined with concern. A memory disentangles itself from the fog, a memory of a sunny day and a chance encounter… 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thank you to the people who've helped me bring this fic to life -- particularly [windwayward](https://windwayward.tumblr.com/) for letting me yell about these characters for the last year+, and also to [Steve](https://angelicsteve1001.tumblr.com/) for reading over this fic and assuaging my fears of it being wildly inconsistent from writing it out of order. And thank you to my lovely KH Discord crew for keeping my love for this series alive and well :)
> 
> I love hearing your opinions and thoughts, so if you have a request or a question or just want to yell at me about KH come over to my tumblr [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com/)!


	2. Destati

思い出せば遥か遥か 

未来はどこまでも輝いてた

_ When I remember far far back _

_ The future was bright for as far as I could see _

You become aware of something soft pushing at your arm. Still drowsy, you finally manage to open your eyes and sit up in bed.

Your Chirithy hops back from you, taking up a position on the windowsill overlooking Daybreak Town. “That must have been some dream. You were tossing and turning like crazy.” Even in your sleep-addled state, you can sense Chirithy’s distress.

You rub your eyes, trying to recall what you’d been dreaming about. You remember being surprised and then... there was something else, too. Something that caused this twisty feeling of unease in the pit of your stomach. “It was... I can’t really remember what it was about. Something scary, I guess.”

Chirithy’s tiny feet tap on the windowsill as they look around. “Well, close your eyes and try to get some sleep,” they say. Already yawning, you slide back under the covers, waiting for sleep to take you once again.

* * *

Today’s target is in Daybreak Town – Neoshadows. Chirithy gives you some words of encouragement before you head out, then disappears in their usual magic puff of smoke. As you’re running around you’re stopped by a Moogle, who tells you about a huge monster that’s been spotted out by the waterfront. You agree to investigate the matter and continue on your way.

You’ve just landed the finishing blow on a Possessor that attacked you from out of nowhere when you get this prickly feeling along your spine and spin around to see a colossal Heartless about to introduce its fist to your face. You fumble and drop your keyblade in your rush to get out of range, but re-summon it to your hand to attack just as the Heartless is recovering from its assault. It stumbles backwards and you continue to advance, drawing strength from the medals inlaid into your keyblade. Finally, you come rushing at it from above, slicing your keyblade down in an arc. The Heartless vanishes in a dark cloud, relinquishing the Lux it was hoarding.

“Ngggghhhaa!” A cry from somewhere behind you makes you look up in alarm. A boy not too far away is struggling with an Invisible. You start to run to help him when, in an incredible display of strength, he lands a flurry of blows on the Heartless. He doesn't let up until it falls, defeated, and releases its Lux. You don’t even realize you’ve stopped to stare until you see the boy fall to his knees, a pained expression on his face.

“Hey!” you shout, running towards him once again. “Are you okay?” When you reach the boy you crouch down next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He’s breathing heavily but doesn’t seem to be in too bad of a shape. Regardless, you raise your keyblade into the air and murmur a quick  _ ‘heal’ _ before stepping back.

The boy shakes his head. “I’m all right,” he says with a smile, looking up at you. You offer him a hand up, which he takes. He shakes his silver-white hair out of his eyes and grins at you once more. “Thanks. I guess I got a little cocky.” He chuckles a little sheepishly at himself, then dismisses his keyblade and offers you his hand again, this time in greeting. “I’m Ephemer. I’m in Union Unicornis.”

You introduce yourself to him in turn and dismiss your keyblade so you can shake his hand. “I’m in Union Anguis. Nice to meet you.”

“Anguis, huh? Looks like we’re on different teams.” Ephemer’s smile doesn’t falter as he tilts his head to look at you. You’ve never really been one for competition, so being in different Unions isn’t a big deal. Some people take the friendly rivalry really seriously though, actively avoiding associating with people outside their Union. It all seems a bit silly, seeing as how in the end everyone is working to collect light and vanquish the darkness.

“I’m actually working on something other than my Union task today, so think of me as Union-free for the day!” Ephemer continues.

“Something else?” you ask. It isn’t as though keyblade wielders are forbidden from carrying out tasks for their own personal needs, but you’d never really had anything else to do besides what your Union wanted.

“Hmm...” Ephemer scratches his head and looks to the side. “I guess I can tell you, since you helped me out.” His eyes meet yours. “Can you keep a secret?”

A bit caught off-guard, your face grows hot under his gaze. “Er, yeah, of course.”

Ephemer turns and starts to walk towards the edge of the park plaza where it overlooks the water. You follow, and he starts to explain. “The worlds we visit – the worlds of fairy tales – are nothing more than holograms. You know, projections. The light we collect there is actually this world’s light.” Ephemer reaches the barrier and leans back against the metal bars, the sea breeze making his red scarf flutter in front of him.

You put a hand on the railing and look at him, eyebrows pushed together. “It’s... everything is a projection? All those places I’ve visited? But what about the people I met? Where are the Heartless coming from?”

Ephemer shakes his head at you and turns to face the water, leaning his weight forward on the bars. “Umm... to put it simply: there are lots of worlds, right?” You nod. “And they’re all connected by land. But it’s impossible to go around to all of them.”

Well that, at least, seems to follow with what you already know. Ephemer continues. “That’s why there’s a mechanism that projects those worlds here and allows us to collect Lux from far away lands.”

You prop your elbows up on the railing and gaze out at the ocean. “Well... I can’t say I entirely understand, but what you’re saying makes some sense, at least.”

“I mean, I don’t know how it all works yet, either!” Ephemer says. “I’m gathering information, trying to figure it out. My hunch is that the Book of Prophecies held by the foretellers is what’s creating these holograms.” He turns to look at you. “Get it? Or have I lost you?”

“Book of Prophecies, huh...” you muse. “Seems plausible, I guess.”

Ephemer shrugs. “That’s good enough!” He jumps up a bit to sit on the railing and gestures back to Daybreak Town. “Anyway, we’re in this town, gathering light that belongs to this vast world. Not just gathering, fighting over it, without knowing why.” He looks down at his hands. “After a little digging, I discovered that all the Unions have different goals.”

Something about the way he says that brings a memory back to your mind. The dream your Chirithy woke you up from. “You know, I had a dream just the other night about the Foretellers. It was in a room that looked like it might be in the clock tower, and they were all listening to someone who I couldn’t see very well. Like that person was in charge or something. I wanted to know what they were talking about but when I tried to get closer this darkness just swallowed me and I woke up.”

Ephemer looks at you, eyebrows raised. “Really? Interesting...” Suddenly, he hops off the railing and turns to you. “Hey, why don’t you come with me?”

“With you where?” you ask.

“To the place you saw in your dream!”

“But... it was just a dream. Do you think it meant something?”

Ephemer is undeterred. “Well, there's no harm in looking, right?”

You shuffle your feet against the cobblestone. “That’s true.... You know what? Okay. Let’s go look.”

With a grin Ephemer grabs your hand and pulls you along towards the town.

* * *

“Wait, wait! Ephemer, I don’t actually know where the room I dreamed is—”

“Didn't you think it was in the clock tower?” Ephemer releases your hand at last on stairs up to Daybreak Town’s market.

A little winded from the running, you put a hand on the railing to catch your breath. “I mean yes, but I've never been in there so I could just as well have dreamed it up.”

“Well there's nothing wrong with looking around!” Ephemer gestures to the tower on your left, rising up over the town.

“I... I guess so. But what if it was only a dream?”

Ephemer shrugs and continues walking up the stairs. “Hey, you said before we might as well try.”

“I suppose you did get me to agree to that...” You take the stairs two at a time to catch up to Ephemer at the top. “Then we’ll see if there's a way in?”

“Yeah, let’s go!”

This time, at a more leisurely pace, there’s more room for conversation. “So, are you in a party or anything?”

Ephemer glances over at you. “Huh? Me? Yeah, I have a party with a good friend in my Union. We’re pretty casual about collecting Lux so far, but I know my party leader has dreams of growing our numbers so we can take on bigger challenges. What about you?”

“Oh... yeah, I have a party. It’s not very big and we don’t rank very high, but it’s nice having other people to help you out.”

“Yeah, I agree,” says Ephemer, staring out at the clock tower looming over the purple roofs of Daybreak Town. The pendulum swings slowly back and forth against the fuchsia sky. “Sometimes I wish we didn’t have the Unions though. You know? I mean, everyone’s supposed to be fighting the darkness, even if we have different ways of doing it.”

“I suppose so...” You pass through an archway and emerge into Daybreak Town’s market while considering your answer. “I guess I always just thought of it as friendly competition. It makes me work harder because I don’t want to let my party or my Union down.”

“Oh, of course,” Ephemer says. You sense that there’s more to the topic than he’s saying, but seeing as you’ve only just met it might be rude to push for answers. Perhaps it’s time for a change of topic.

“So... what’s your favourite place to go to when you’re not on a mission?”

“You mean, in Daybreak Town?” Ephemer asks.

“Well, anywhere really. Could be one of the places you’ve visited, too.” You’ve only been to a few places so far – Dwarf Woodlands, Agrabah, Wonderland, and Olympus Coliseum. There are probably dozens, if not hundreds more out there that you’ve yet to explore.

“Hmm...” Ephemer tilts his head sideways and casts his gaze up to the clouds. “I actually really like the lighthouse in Daybreak Town.”

“You mean the one back at the park where we met?” you ask. Ephemer nods. “I didn’t think we were supposed to go up there. The stairs up have always been locked when I’ve gone.”

Ephemer shoots you a sideways look and, with a smirk, summons his keyblade. For a moment, you think he’s spotted some more Heartless that you have to defeat, but then the significance of his action dawns on you. “ _ Oh. _ I... didn’t think of that.”

“Locked doors don’t mean anything when you’ve got this!” Ephemer laughs and dismisses his keyblade. “I mean, maybe we’re not supposed to go up there, but no one’s told me off for it either. It’s got a really nice view of the sunset.”

“That sounds really lovely,” you say, mostly to yourself.

“You should come with me!” Ephemer says. “You seem really...” He seems to catch himself from saying something and restarts his sentence. “It’d be nice to have some company up there.”

“I’d like that,” you say. “How about after tomorrow’s mission?”

“Great! We can meet up at the fountain square.” The two of you pass under another archway and find yourselves at the end of a bridge. “Ah, finally,” Ephemer says.

You tilt your head back to try to get a good view of the clock tower. It’s absolutely gigantic, casting long shadows over the peaceful town.

“I’ve been here a few times, but I haven’t found a way in,” Ephemer says, walking over to the base of one of the structure’s two supporting pillars. There are several small, narrow windows higher up in the wall, but they’re too far out of reach to use to get inside. He runs his hands over the brick, like he’s searching for a hidden door. “Maybe we should split up and see if we can find a way inside somehow.”

You nod. “Okay. Should we meet up somewhere later and share what we’ve found?”

Ephemer tugs at the corner of his red scarf and tilts his head to the side. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. How about we meet at the fountain square in an hour?”

You look up at the clock tower, then back at Ephemer and nod. “Okay, see you then.”

“Good luck!” Ephemer heads for the back of the clock tower, and you make your way across the bridge to begin your investigation.

* * *

Panting a little from running, you’re surprised to see that you’re the first person to the fountain once your investigation time is up. You’d actually been preparing an apology for being a bit late, though apparently that won’t be necessary. You hop up onto the stone wall surrounding the fountain and glance at the clock on the outside of one of the plaza shops. Yup, he’s definitely late.

A couple of keyblade wielders like yourself pass through the plaza, headed home after a day out completing missions. You’re actually starting to wonder if you should just head home yourself when you hear footsteps pounding across the cobblestone and turn to see Ephemer running down the stairs on your left.

“I’m—haaa—gimme a second.” Ephemer reaches the foot of the fountain completely out of breath and drops his hands to his knees, breathing heavily. Then he looks up at you and clasps his hands together in front of his chest. “I’m really sorry—haaa—sorry I’m late!”

You shake your head at him, but he continues. “I got so caught up in my investigation I lost track of time. I didn’t mean to make you wait, honest!”

You pat the spot beside you and Ephemer pulls himself up, turning towards you with the most apologetic puppy-dog eyes you’ve ever seen. “It’s okay,” you say, feeling your previous irritation at his tardiness slipping away. “Did you find something?”

“I, well...” He looks down at his feet and knocks his heels against the stone wall. “No, nothing. Did you?”

You shake your head. “Nothing, I’m afraid.”

Ephemer turns to you with another of his dazzling smiles. “Well, we can’t expect to figure everything out in a day! Why don’t we do the same thing tomorrow?”

“Do some investigating after our mission and then meet up here, you mean?”

“Yeah! I mean, if you’re busy I understand that, too.”

You take a second to mull the idea over. “Sounds good to me. I should head home for tonight, though. So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“It’s a promise!”

* * *

Back in your room, you’ve changed into your pajamas and are finishing up getting ready for bed when your Chirithy appears. “How did today go?” they ask.

“I had a lot of fun!” you say, rinsing off your toothbrush and heading over to your bed.

Chirithy hops over to the windowsill and tilts their head at you. “You look happy. Tell me, tell me!”

“I made a new friend while I was out. We’re meeting up tomorrow, too.” You crawl under the covers and turn on your side to look at Chirithy.

“That’s great! No wonder you’re smiling. I hear having friends is nice.” Chirithy hops to turn around and look out the window onto Daybreak Town. “But I wouldn’t know because I don’t have any.”

You sit up and look at your fuzzy companion. “That’s not true, Chirithy. You’re my friend, too! We’ve been through a lot together, the two of us.”

Chirithy turns and looks at you once more. “You’re my friend...?”

“Of course, silly! Come here.” You pat the mattress beside you and Chirithy hops up next to you. You pat their head affectionately. “You’re the first friend I made when I got here. And we’ll always be by each other’s side, right?”

“Right!” Chirithy says, their eyes creasing happily.

You slide back down under the covers and turn the light off, then pat Chirithy’s head once more. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Sweet dreams!” Chirithy says, and disappears in a white cloud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited to finally get posting this fic! Time to get the ball rolling on Ephemer and Player's friendship :) I put Player in Anguis because a) That was my Union in jp KHUx, and b) the KHX novel also puts Player in Anguis. Which Union did you pick and why? I love hearing your opinions and thoughts, so leave a comment or check out my KH tumblr [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com/)!


	3. The Afternoon Streets

As the sun drops lower towards the horizon, you make your way to the fountain square, hoping you’ll find Ephemer there. Today’s mission had been in Wonderland, where you’d had a very confusing tea party with two very unusual characters. You’d spent some time looking around for a way to enter the clock tower again after you returned to Daybreak Town but had wound up empty-handed, and now it’s time to see if Ephemer remembered your promise to meet up this evening.

To your surprise, he’s already waiting at the fountain when you get there. As soon as he sees you on the stairs down to the plaza, he waves his hands at you in greeting and jumps off the fountain wall to run over.

“You made it!” he says, grinning from ear to ear.

You find yourself smiling back. “We made a promise, didn’t we?”

“Yeah! Okay, wait right here, I’m gonna get something.” He turns and goes into the Moogle shop behind you. Not long after, he emerges once again and grabs your hand to pull you along. “Let’s go!”

The two of you hurry down the stairs leading away from the fountain, then slow to a normal pace again once you reach the market. You become acutely aware that Ephemer is still holding onto your hand now that you aren’t rushing anymore. He seems to notice too and lets go to scratch at the back of his neck. “So, what did you do today?” he asks, breaking the tension.

“I went to Wonderland,” you begin, and explain to him the tea party you’d been an unexpected guest of. He’s a surprisingly good listener, laughing when you tell him how the Mad Hatter had poured sugar all over you and your teacup until your tea was nothing more than a pile of white powder.

“And then he complained that they were out of sugar, and because I was a guest, I had to bring some more! I probably had all the sugar they needed in my lap, what with the way they poured it.”

Ephemer laughs and says, “Maybe that’s why you smell so nice today!” You turn to smile curiously at him and his eyes go wide as he lets out another awkward chuckle, bringing his hand up to his neck to tug at his scarf.

You continue talking as if you hadn’t noticed. “Honestly I think some sugar got into my shoe; I can feel it when I’m walking.”

That gets him to laugh again. “Oh, we’re here,” he says, walking up to the door of the lighthouse overlooking the sea surrounding Daybreak Town. He pushes it open and motions you through. “After you.”

You step through the doorway. It’s actually rather dark inside the lighthouse, with most of the light coming from the open door. Ephemer steps in behind you and summons his keyblade in a dazzling flash of white. He points it towards the door leading to the stairway, and with a _clink!_ you hear it unlock. With another flourish, Ephemer dismisses his keyblade and pushes open the newly unlocked door, waving at you to follow him up.

The stairs wind round and round in a tight spiral up to the top of the lighthouse, where Ephemer pushes open a trapdoor and the two of you emerge onto the sunset-bathed lighthouse observatory. Your breath catches slightly in your throat as you take in the view – the sky is painted a myriad of reds, pinks, and oranges, with soft purple clouds seeming to radiate away like feathers from the setting sun as it sinks towards the water. In the distance, another lighthouse sits silhouetted against the vibrant sky.

“What do you think?” Ephemer asks, swinging a leg over one of the windows to sit on the wide windowsill facing the sunset. He pats the space next to him and you carefully lower yourself down to sit beside him, legs dangling out the open window.

“I think it’s absolutely lovely,” you reply quietly. “No wonder you like it up here.”

Ephemer turns and rummages for something in his bag. The size of the windowsill means that you have to sit quite close to him, and you lean away from his elbows so you don’t get jabbed accidentally. Then he turns to you again and holds something out. “Tada! I got one for both of us.”

The thing he’s holding out is a sort of bluish turquoise rectangle on a stick. After you take it from him, he tears the clear packaging off his own and takes a bite. A little confused, you take the packaging off of yours as well and take a bite.

“It’s cold!” you say, licking your lips. “And salty. But sweet?”

“Don’t tell me you’ve never had sea-salt ice cream before!” Ephemer turns to you incredulously.

“I don’t think I have?”

“I’m glad I bought it then! It’s not officially on the menu, but they sell it in the Moogle shop if you ask for it. I think usually it’s a seasonal thing.” He takes another bite of his ice cream. “I dunno, I just like the way the flavours mix together. It’s great after a day of work. And even better with friends!”

You smile. “Thanks, Ephemer. This was really nice of you.”

He grins back. “Of course! We might be from different Unions, but we’re friends, right?”

“Right!”

He holds your gaze for a few moments before dropping it to look at your ice cream. “Careful!” he says. “It’s melting.”

“Oh, yeah.” You lick some of the ice cream off your hand and turn back to the sunset. It really is a lovely view to share with a friend.

* * *

“You look like you’re in a good mood today!” Your Chirithy patters along beside you as you get ready to head out on today’s mission.

You smile and lean down to pat their head for a moment. “It’s been a really good week,” you say.

“You're not going to keep me in the dark, are you?”

You sit down at the end of your bed to pull on your shoes, and Chirithy hops over to stare up at you expectantly. “I’ve been hanging out with that friend I told you about a while ago after my missions,” you explain. “He’s really fun to talk to.”

“Sounds like you get along really well.”

You summon your keyblade and give it a test swing before heading out the door, Chirithy at your heels. “We do! He doesn’t always have the best sense of time management, but we’ve been meeting up and eating ice cream together every day this week.”

“Having friends is nice, isn’t it?” Chirithy’s eyes crease happily.

“It really is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright on to the canon divergence, aka time to justify why Player speaks about Ephemer like they've known him for years when it was, uhh, three hours or so at most. You might have noticed already, but I've been naming the chapters after song titles in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm going more for name matchups than mood matchups in some cases, though The Afternoon Streets is a lovely calming piece of music and I'd absolutely recommend listening to it while reading this chapter!  
> Got a KHUx fic or hc request? I love writing these characters so leave a comment or check out my KH tumblr [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com/) and send me a message!


	4. Lazy Afternoons

“So, where’d you end up today?” You swing your legs against the stone lighthouse wall and take a bite of your ice cream.

“Olympus Coliseum. They were holding some kind of tournament I got wrangled into participating in.” Ephemer sits leaning against the window frame, one leg dangling outside and the other bent so his foot is beside you on top of the sill. He gestures with his free hand, mimicking keyblade swings. “I learned this cool new move though – it’s like a  _ fwoosh _ and then a  _ shiiiing! _ and then I jump up in the air and  _ kapow! _ the Heartless is toast.”

You chuckle at his enthusiasm, but also keep a cautious hand on his ankle in the event that his passionate re-enactment throws him off balance and he falls out the window. “You make yourself sound very impressive for someone I’ve seen trip over nothing.”

He swipes playfully at your shoulder. “My scarf blew in my face so I couldn’t see!  _ And _ there was a loose stone in the road that threw off my balance.”

You raise your eyebrow at him and take another bite of your ice cream. “Nuh-uh, I know what I saw and it was about as graceful as the Fat Bandit Heartless in Agrabah are.”

“Okay but this move looks really cool, I promise!” Ephemer tucks his other foot up on the sill next to you and slouches down against the window frame, pouting.

You finish the last of your ice cream and tap the stick against Ephemer’s knees. “Alright Mr. Cool Guy, I’ll give you another chance to impress me with this fancy new move of yours.”

“Success!” He sits up straighter and rests his head on his knees, staring out at the sunset. “You know, I wish they’d send us on more missions in groups. I feel like we’re always going out on our own. And even when you do get to work with someone, you’re only ever paired up with people in your Union.”

“There are some missions you do with your party, too. But I get what you mean—sometimes it feels lonely just exploring a new place on my own.”

“Yeah, that too.” Ephemer turns to rest his chin on his knees, looking at you. “I guess I’m probably taking away a lot of the time you’d spend with your party.”

“I could say the same to you.” You draw shapes on your thigh with the leftover ice cream stick. “I never talked to my party much anyway; I’d just drop in sometimes when they asked for help with a raid boss, or share my best fighting ability to help other people out.”

You feel Ephemer’s eyes on your face and find yourself continuing to talk. “Actually, my party leader just talked to me yesterday and said that they’re looking to become a more hardcore party. She wanted to know if I was going to be up to the task of getting more Lux every day.”

“Oh,” Ephemer says quietly. He prods at your leg with his leftover ice cream stick, tracing over some of the patterns you’d been absentmindedly drawing. “So, what are you gonna do?”

“I... don’t know, really. I wasn’t going to tell you because I thought it’d make you feel bad.”

“Make me feel bad?” He draws a sad face on your thigh and you mime scratching it out.

“Yeah, I mean, I used to do more stuff with my party before I met you, but lately I’ve been wondering if I should just go solo for a while.”

Ephemer’s hand pauses mid-pattern and he looks up at you. “But, you’ve been with your party longer than you’ve known me! They should come first.”

You turn to meet his gaze. “Sure, I guess, but... I don’t really want to do the competition thing anymore. I’m tired of the rivalry and the rankings. And I’ve had way more fun hanging out with you than I ever did collecting Lux for some petty reward.”

You catch a flicker of a genuine smile from Ephemer before the corners of his mouth turn downwards in thought. “We’re from different Unions, though. We might not always be able to hang out like this. But your party will always be there.”

You kick your heels against the outside of the lighthouse and turn away, studying the ever-darkening horizon where the sun has finished setting. “I dunno. We’ll see what happens.” You gesture in front of you. “It’s getting late. We should probably head back.”

You feel his eyes on your face but continue to stare straight ahead. He taps his ice cream stick against your leg one last time, then scoots backwards so he can swing his legs over the windowsill and into the lighthouse. “You’re right. But, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So since I'm stretching out the timeline between Player meeting Ephemer and Ephemer disappearing, I'm allowing some of the quests that happen after Ephemer disappears to occur now, like Player visiting Beast's Castle.  
> Also we don't really know how a lot of the mechanics in KHUx work in the "real world", like sharing medals, so I've decided that sharing a medal means that when you're training with your party you help teach them a fighting technique or a new spell. This makes more sense to me than having a wielder be summoned out of nowhere to smack an enemy for you :P Other cases, like when you're fighting a raid boss, make sense to have your party members physically present in some way helping you take out the Heartless, since if you send a help request they can fight the raid boss "independently" as well.   
> Anyway, as always you're welcome to drop by my KH Tumblr [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com/) and send me a message! Do you have a favourite place you like to go to to relax? We've seen a couple of the KH characters' favourites in the series already -- the Twilight Town clock tower and the "Usual Spot", the play island on Destiny Islands, and even Strelitzia's favourite rooftop.


	5. Laughter and Merriment

“Someone’s sleepy today,” you remark as Ephemer leans dramatically back against you so you’re pushed up between him and the window frame.

He slides down until just his head is in your lap and his feet are against the other side of the window. “I worked hard on my mission,” he pouts, eyes closed.

You hover your hand over his head for a moment, then gently pull your fingers through his silver curls. He opens his eyes briefly and catches you looking at him, then quickly squeezes his eyes shut again before letting out a pleased sort of hum.

“Where’d you go today?” you ask.

“It’s called Castle of Dreams. There’s a prince there preparing some kind of a ball and all these Heartless were getting in the way. You should’ve seen the size of the Mega-Shadow in the courtyard!” He opens his eyes and gestures broadly with his arms. “Massive! And it had a bunch of these little Shadow minions too.” He glances up at you. “How about you? Do anything interesting?”

“I went to Beast’s Castle. Chirithy told me that there’d been a Huge Snowman Heartless spotted there, but I didn’t find it today.” You gently push some of Ephemer’s curls away from his eyes. “You might need a haircut, you know.”

Ephemer scrunches his eyebrows together and tugs at the front of his hair. “You think?”

You gather his bangs up at the top of his head. “I could probably put it into a tiny little ponytail at this rate.”

“But I like my hair down.” He tugs his hair back so it’s brushing the tops of his eyelashes. “...Do you think I’d look good with a ponytail?” he asks in an unusually timid voice.

“Hmm...” You brush out some of his hair onto your hand to see how long it is. “Pulling it off your forehead might just emphasize what an inflated head you have.”

“Oh, thanks.” He lets out a dramatic puff of air that blows his bangs up off his face.

You chuckle and gather his hair up on top of his head once more. “...You could grow it out if you want to.” Ephemer smiles and closes his eyes again. You continue, “I’d even teach you how to braid it!”

“You think it’s long enough to braid now?” His hands drift to the tassels on his scarf, which he wraps around his fingers.

You narrow your eyes, gently pulling at the curls to see their length. “I could maybe make it into a couple of different braids.”

Ephemer lets out a hum that sounds like agreement, so you set to work parting his hair into several sections before beginning to braid one segment at a time. His silky hair, combined with the fact that, despite teasing him about it, his hair isn’t that long, makes working with it a bit more difficult than expected. You tie off the end of the first braid with string from a spool of thread Ephemer says he picked up at the Castle of Dreams a while back and gather the next section of hair to begin a new braid.

You sit like that in silent concentration for a few moments until Ephemer speaks up again. “Do you ever think about what you’d do if we weren’t running around defeating Heartless all the time?”

“What I’d do...?” you repeat, mostly to yourself. “I guess I’d... spend more time with friends? I meet a lot of nice people out on missions, but I don’t often see them afterwards.”

“Yeah, that sounds like you,” Ephemer says. “You’re easy to get along with.”

“You think?” You accidentally lose grip on the strand you were working with and the whole braid unravels. Gathering up the hair again, you start from the beginning.

Ephemer looks down at his scarf, rolling the tassels between his fingers. “Yeah. As soon as I met you I thought you seemed like a really nice person. And now that I know you better, I see that you’re always worrying about other people more than yourself.”

You offer the spool of thread to Ephemer so he can break you off another string to secure the end of the braid you’ve just finished, then guide his hand back to hold the hair while you tie it off. Worrying about other people just seems like something everyone should do. It’s not that you disagree with Ephemer’s assertion that you’re a nice person, not exactly. But it feels like a “really nice person” should be someone who’s constantly going above and beyond to be kind and helpful, not just showing people the basic human kindness they deserve.

“I guess you must meet a lot of rude people if you think I’m some kind of bastion of kindness.” You gather up another free section of hair and start separating it into three different pieces.

“That’s not true! I mean, just think about when we first met. You didn’t know me, and I’m not even in your Union, but you ran over to help as soon as you thought I was in trouble.”

“Anyone else would do the same, though.” You’re glad he’s looking down at his scarf instead of at your face, which you can feel getting warm at his unexpected praise.

“Maybe you think so, but a lot of people don’t think that way. That’s what makes you special.”

You’re not quite sure how to respond, so you simply continue braiding his hair in silence, thinking. He tips his head back slightly to look up at you when you don’t reply, one eyebrow raised in question.

“...I’m not really sure what to say to that, Ephemer. Thank you? I hardly feel like a shining beacon of kindness, but it’s nice to know you think I’m easy to get along with.” You pass him the thread again and he breaks off a piece for you that you loop around the end of the braid. “Okay, you need to sit up and take your scarf off so I can braid the back too.”

He pulls himself up to a sitting position, tugging his scarf off. You straddle the window so you’re facing the same direction and can support your back against the window frame. Dangling one leg out the window, you pat the space in front of you and Ephemer shuffles backwards so you can start braiding his hair again. His shoulders twitch when you run your fingers through his hair to separate it. “Hmm?”

“It tickles,” he says, turning to hide his face from you and chuckling.

“ _ You’re _ ticklish?” You’re not sure why it had never occurred to you, but it’s a surprise nonetheless.

Ephemer clasps his hands around the back of his neck to protect it. “Don’t go getting any ideas!”

“I wasn’t gonna do anything, but now you’ve got me curious,” you say. Ephemer twists to look at you with puppy-dog eyes. “Okay, okay, I’m just teasing. Now turn around so I can finish braiding.”

Ephemer slowly lowers his hands to the red scarf balled up in his lap and traces his finger over the spiral patterns in the fabric. You section off his hair again, trying to pay more attention to how your fingers brush against the back of his neck so you don’t tickle him accidentally.

“Sorry,” you murmur when he twitches again, patting his shoulder and holding out a hand for another piece of string. “Almost done. Hold this so I can tie it.”

“What does it look like?” he asks, running his fingers along the braid above his ear.

“Uhh...” You take a moment to survey your handiwork. “I guess you’ll have to wait and see.” The back of your hand brushes up against his neck again and he shivers. “Oops.”

“Is braiding hair hard?” Ephemer asks, still prodding at the braids you’ve already completed.

“Not really,” you say, folding one strand over the other. “It’s harder to braid your own hair than it is to braid someone else’s. And it’s easier with longer hair.” You tap his shoulder. “Thread, please.” He passes you another piece of string and you guide his hand to hold the end of the braid you’ve just finished, then loop the string behind his hair and tie it off. “Done!”

Ephemer shuffles forward on the windowsill and swings his other leg inside the lighthouse so he can turn to face you, patting at his hair. “It feels... weird.”

You grin at his new hairstyle. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with your hair off your forehead.”

“I like my hair down! But it’s nice not having it in my eyes. I guess I should probably cut it soon.”

“There’s a Moogle in the marketplace who does a good job,” you say, stretching to pat down a braid that’s sticking up a little too much. Okay, if you’re being honest, the whole hairstyle looks very silly. He’s got three French braids on the top of his head and four at the back. Plus, especially at the front, several shorter pieces of hair are sticking out of the braids where the strands were too short to incorporate properly. You feel the corner of your mouth twitching upward as you take the whole look in.

Ephemer narrows his eyes. “I see you trying not to laugh,” he says, trying to affect disappointment but fails spectacularly and smiles back at you instead.

The laugh bursts forth from your lips and you shake your head at him, smiling. “You look really dashing, trust me.”

“Nope, too late, I don’t believe you anymore!” Ephemer sticks his nose up in the air and tosses his scarf back around his neck, crossing his arms when he’s done.

You bring the leg you’d been dangling out the window back onto the sill to kneel on as you shuffle closer to Ephemer. “Aw, come on, and after all my hard work this is the thanks I get?”

Even though Ephemer has his face turned away from you in mock displeasure, you can see the upturned curve of his cheek and the creases by his eyes.

“Guess I have no choice, then,” you say, “but to tickle you into submission!”

Ephemer lets out a small “eep!” as you wiggle your fingers against his side, hunching his arms close to protect his ribs from your hands. You can feel him shaking with laughter as you both wrestle for dominance. At one point, he stops trying to defend his sides from your tickling and manages to grab your wrists, pushing you back until you can’t support the weight anymore and you both tumble onto the lighthouse floor in a fit of laughter.

You end up half on top of him with a faceful of scarf, your legs somehow tangled together such that you can’t figure out how to get up. His fingers move against your side and, worried you're about to be tickled again, you quickly bring a hand to your face to move his scarf away when you accidentally hit something hard that makes Ephemer go “wa— _ ow _ ”. You uncover your vision to see him with a hand to his nose, rubbing a part that looks a bit pinker than usual.

“Ah, sorry!” you say, trying to figure out where you can put your hand so that you can push yourself off him. Your faces are much closer than they’ve ever been, and your cheeks are heating up.

“No, no, don’t worry about it, uh...” He tries to sit up and you manage to roll off of him onto your back, detangling your legs in the process. Pulling himself up onto his elbows, he glances at you and starts to laugh, a big belly-chuckle that seems to come from somewhere in his chest. It’s infectious, and you find yourself laughing too at the absurdity of the situation.

“You know, we’re lucky we didn’t fall out of the lighthouse,” you say, gesturing to the windowsill.

“Aw, we were fine!” Ephemer insists, sitting up properly. Maybe it’s just the lingering rays of sunlight filtering into the lighthouse, but his cheeks seem much rosier than usual. He stands up and offers you a hand. “Might be a good time to go home, though.”

You let him pull you up so you’re standing, too. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I still have to find that Heartless in Beast’s Castle tomorrow, anyway.” You glance up at his hair, now with even more loose strands sticking out of the braids, and try unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh. “Do you, uh, want me to take the braids out before we head back?”

Ephemer raises a hand to his head and rolls a loose tuft of hair between his fingers. “Nah,” he says, crouching down to open the trapdoor that leads to the stairs down the lighthouse. “You did put a lot of work into it.”

“You bet I did!” you say, patting his head affectionately. “You’re sure to get lots of compliments while we walk back to town, I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually one of my favourite chapters in the fic; it was a lot of fun to write. I really enjoy writing the friendship dynamic between Player and Ephemer (I mean I suppose that's obvious seeing as I have some 100k+ of fic with these characters).  
> As a bonus because things are pretty hectic and stressful right now in the world and I'm sure people need a distraction while cooped up at home, I'll be uploading the next chapter early, on Friday! Regular updates will continue to be on Tuesdays.  
> If you need a bit of a pick-me-up between updates though, feel free to hit me up on Tumblr at [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com/)! I'm happy to chat, especially about KHUx characters :)


	6. Isn't it Lovely?

“Oooh, who is this handsome boy with the unfamiliar haircut?” you tease as you walk over to the fountain where Ephemer is already waiting for you. His hair has been neatly trimmed so it no longer hangs past his eyes, and it seems extra curly today without the additional length. He hops off the fountain as you walk by, but you continue past him, raising your gaze dramatically to the sky. “Alas, I came to meet my friend Ephemer, but it seems he is not here. But perhaps this dashing young man would like to accompany me to the lighthouse in his stead?”

You turn to flash a smile at Ephemer, who rolls his eyes at your theatrics, an unbidden grin curving his lips upwards. “Why yes, your highness, I would be honoured to accompany you,” he says, miming a deferential bow. “You may call me… um… Ephemera!”

You slow your pace so you can walk beside him and bump your shoulder against his. “Well met, Sir Ephemera,” you say, trying to affect an air of royalty with your tone. “Oh!” You abruptly stop in your tracks. “I forgot to get the ice cream.”

Ephemer shakes his head at you and tugs at your hand to keep you moving forward. “Got you covered,” he says with a smile. “I’m not usually first to the fountain, so I knew you’d be along soon.”

“Phew,” you say, then correct your posture and clear your throat. “I mean, er, as expected of my humble knight in shining armour.” 

Ephemer snickers at your stuffy tone. When you reach the lighthouse, he dashes a few steps ahead to open the door for you with a dramatic sweep of his arm and usher you through. “Your majesty.”

It’s the look on his face that sets you off, a raised eyebrow combined with a semi-neutral expression that seems to be taking an extraordinary amount of effort not to dissolve into a grin. You burst into laughter as you walk through the door, giving him a pat on the shoulder before continuing up the stairs. “Whew, I don’t think I can pull off the stuffy royalty persona for much longer,” you say. After emerging through the trapdoor at the top of the lighthouse, you reach down to offer Ephemer a hand up. “Your hair really does look nice, though.”

“You think so?” Ephemer asks as you pull him up through the trapdoor. 

Now that he’s standing in front of you, you lean forward to inspect his new haircut once more. “Yeah, I like it. Nice to see more of your eyes again.”

He turns his head to the side and tugs at his scarf. “Thanks.”

“Of course,” you say, climbing over the windowsill to sit facing the sunset. Ephemer follows suit and pulls two ice cream bars out of his bag, handing one to you. “Thanks for the ice cream.”

“Yeah, no problem.” He crawls over the windowsill to sit beside you and takes a bite of his bar. “You know, we’ve been getting the same kind of ice cream every day,” he says, swallowing. “We could get something different one of these times, if you wanted.”

“I know we could, but…” You stare down at the bar in your hands, thinking. “I dunno, this is the flavour that I associate with being with you on the lighthouse. Getting another kind or another food would just be… weird.” You look over at him. “Is that strange?”

“No, I understand,” he says. He takes another bite of his ice cream, then jokes, “We’ll be the Moogle shop’s best customers for sure.”

“Not like I’m doing much else with the Munny I get from missions,” you say with a shrug. “And we do enough running around while we’re out to work it off.”

“Oh man, that reminds me,” Ephemer says, hiking one foot up onto the windowsill so he can rest his elbow on his knee. “There was one of those Bulky Vendor Heartless on my mission today and let me tell you–” he turns to stare into your eyes with a serious expression, drawing in close as though he's about to share a secret, “–they are  _ so _ not worth the extra effort of catching them.”

“Bulky Vendor…?”

He pulls back from you in surprise. “You haven’t seen them?”

To be fair, it’s not like you necessarily know the names of every Heartless breed you come across but… you don’t think you’ve come across any you’d call a ‘bulky vendor’. “Are they like the Fat Bandit Heartless?”

He shakes his head vehemently. “Oh no, not at all. They’re like, uh… they have this big glass sphere filled with a bunch of little coloured balls on top of their head. They don’t actually attack you, and if you see them they start running away.”

“Isn’t that a good thing…?” you ask, drawing your eyebrows together.

“Well, no! They’re harmless, but if you can catch them before they escape they give you really neat items. Here, hold this for a sec.” He pushes his half-eaten ice cream bar into your hands and digs through his bag for something. “I was chasing after it for ages to get this!”

He holds out his hand for you to see. It’s some kind of crystal, from what you can tell, coloured a clear, turquoise-ish blue that sparkles in the sunlight. It looks quite valuable. “What are you going to do with it?” you ask, looking up at Ephemer.

He gazes down at the crystal, puckering his lips in thought. “I don’t know yet. My first thought was that I could maybe use it to upgrade my keyblade, but I kinda think I might just keep it to look at. The colour reminds me of the ice cream we’re always eating, actually.”

You hold up Ephemer’s ice cream bar next to the crystal. “You’re right,” you say, studying the colours. “The crystal’s a lot prettier, though.”

“Yeah,” he says, replacing it in his bag and taking his ice cream back from you. You finish off your own bar and set the stick down beside you on the windowsill. 

Ephemer finishes up the last bites of his ice cream as well, staring idly off towards the sunset. You follow his gaze and lean your head against his shoulder, the fabric of his scarf soft against your cheek. The sea is rockier than usual today; the waves crash noisily against the base of the lighthouse. A strong breeze blows through the lighthouse and the chill, combined with the ice cream you’d eaten earlier, causes you to shiver a little.

“Are you cold?” Ephemer asks, leaning his head forward to look at you.

“No, I’m fine,” you say, but already Ephemer is untying his scarf from his neck. He wraps it around your shoulders and extracts his arm from between the two of you to pull you closer. His hand lingers there at your waist, warming your side. You rest your head back on his shoulder once again, and together you watch the sun slowly slip down below the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus chapter! I hope this provides a bit of entertainment to those stuck at home. We're all getting through this!  
> As always, feel free to hit me up on Tumblr at [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com/)! I've got more time than usual on my hands and I'd love to hear from you :)


	7. Hand in Hand

きれいな青空の下で 

僕らはいつまでも眠っていた

_ Underneath the beautiful blue sky _

_ We would keep sleeping _

* * *

On one particularly rainy day, you wait for Ephemer on a bench underneath a small yellow awning with a view of the fountain plaza. He’s a few minutes late, but that’s nothing strange. Some days your mission will keep you out later than you expect, too, but you’ve both managed to make it to the lighthouse every day since you met. No one's lingering in the plaza today; the rain has taken care of that. At least you should be easy to spot when he does arrive. 

Sure enough, before long a portal of light shows up in the plaza, which Ephemer steps out of. He glances around at the fountain, shielding his eyes from the downpour, and you wave your hands so he sees you. “Over here!”

He runs over and joins you on the bench, damp patches already appearing on his shirt from the rain. “What a day!” he laughs, holding his hand out past the shelter of the awning and catching a few drops in his palm. “I haven’t seen it rain this hard in ages.”

“Yeah, I was thinking maybe we should go somewhere a bit more, well,  _ sheltered _ than the lighthouse today.”

Ephemer looks at you with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. “What, you don’t like the rain?”

You find yourself unexpectedly backpedalling. “Er, no, rain is fine? Just, you know,  _ wet _ . And it makes everything cold and colourless.”

“Okay, you are missing out,” Ephemer says, a strange glint in his eye. “Come on!” And before you can protest, he’s pulling you along by the hand up the stairs away from the fountain. This time, even when your pace slows down, he keeps hold of your hand, which turns out to be a very good thing because you slip on the stairs and would have landed very ungracefully if you hadn’t been holding onto him. His grip on your hand tightens a little after he helps you regain your balance.

“Where are we going?” you ask, blinking raindrops out of your eyes.

“You’ll see!” He glances over at you. “I was hoping it’d be a surprise. Have you been down this way before?”

“Um...” You pause, looking around, then point to one of the buildings farther down the road. “I turn at that building with the shrub out front to go home if I’m coming from the fountain plaza. But I don’t normally take this road.”

“Good,” Ephemer says, seemingly to himself. “You'll like this, I promise.”

You can feel your shoes getting wetter and wetter as you continue walking, making squelching noises as your foot rubs up against the wet material. Sometimes when you come across a large puddle you’ll walk around one side of it and Ephemer will walk around the other, but he never lets go of your hand, instead stretching out as far as his arms will reach.

Some raindrops fall down the front of your clothes and you shiver. Most of your clothing is plastered to your skin from the rain, making it heavy and stiff. “Almost there!” Ephemer says, walking around so he’s in front of you. “Close your eyes, okay? I’ll lead you to the rest of it.”

“Are you sure?” you ask, glancing around.

He gives your hand a squeeze. “Trust me.”

With a sigh you close your eyes and he takes your other hand, presumably walking backwards as he leads you. You wrinkle your nose as a raindrop falls on your closed eyelid. 

“Your hands are cold,” he remarks, rubbing a thumb over the back of your fingers.

“It’s chilly and raining,” you say. “And unlike you, I don’t normally wear gloves.” Then it occurs to you. “Wait, why don’t you have your gloves on today?”

“I ripped one of them on my mission so they’re in my bag,” admits Ephemer. “I was going to take them to the Moogle shop later to fix them. Oh, watch your step here; there’s a curb you need to step up onto. It’s... it’s just a regular curb – you don’t need to lift your foot that high. Okay, we’re good.”

“Are we almost there?” The stone street unexpectedly gives way to something softer that crunches underfoot.

“Yup! Just a bit more—” You hear a small splash. “Ah... oops. Don’t worry, I won’t make you walk into that puddle. Okay, stand right here.” You feel him come up behind you and then his hands are on your waist, pushing you to turn. “Yeah, face this way. Alright, you can open your eyes now!”

You have to blink a few times and wipe the rain out of your eyes before you can take in what’s in front of you. “It’s...  _ oh. _ ”

All around are hydrangeas in full bloom, the raindrops glistening on their petals making them seem like they’re made out of stardust. In front of you, you can see that the colours of the flowers have been chosen carefully so they make the shape of a star reminiscent of the teeth on your Starlight keyblade. You glance around and see that you seem to be in a tiny little park you never knew existed, with a gravel path that leads from the main road through to the street on the other side of the buildings.

“It’s lovely,” you breathe.

“You like it? I’m glad. I always think the flowers here look prettiest in the rain.” Ephemer scuffs his foot along the gravel path and scratches the back of his neck.

You ruffle some of the nearby flower clusters, causing them to spill water onto the ground below. “I’ve really got to do some more exploring so I can find cool places to show you too, huh?”

Ephemer moves his hair, plastered down to his forehead by the rain, out of his eyes. “Nah, you don’t need to worry about that. It’s just fun hanging out with you!”

You smile at him, wiping at your forehead with the back of your wrist. The raindrops sliding down your face are making your skin itch a bit. “As lovely as this is, I have to admit I am really cold and wet right now and could go for a nice bath.”

“You know what else warms you up?” Ephemer asks, grinning widely.

“...Warm drinks...?” Another answer comes to mind but you don’t voice it.

“No, exercise!” He grabs your hand again, and before you have a chance to protest, you’re running out through the other end of the park, crashing through puddles and sliding across the slippery cobblestone streets. A bit ahead of you, Ephemer suddenly skids on a particularly slippery rock and loses his balance. You pull up on his hand, trying to support him, but the unexpected yank on your arm as he overcompensates the force needed to stop himself from falling causes you both to tumble to the ground with a yelp of laughter and surprise.

“Ow,” Ephemer says, brushing dirt and pebbles off his arms and chuckling when it just sticks to his hands instead. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” You haven’t bothered to get up from where you fell flat on your back, instead squeezing your eyes shut and sticking your tongue out to try to catch a raindrop. One drop lands up your nose and you shoot up into a sitting position, rubbing at your face. “Bleh!”

Ephemer chuckles and offers you a hand up. Even _ his _ hand is cold, you notice as you let him pull you to your feet. The two of you are absolutely soaked. Ephemer sneezes.

“You know, we should probably get dried off before we catch a cold,” you say, gesturing to Ephemer as he sniffles and wipes at his nose. “My house is just up here if you want to come in for a bit.”

“Oh it’s okay, I don’t want to—”

“I’m not taking no for an answer! We can't have you getting sick.” This time you’re the one to take his hand and pull him along with you.

* * *

There’s only one bathroom in your tiny flat, so you let Ephemer take a shower first, hurriedly cleaning up your room before he comes out so it’s at least a little more presentable. You toss both of your wet clothes into a machine imbued with wind magic to speed up the drying process, but the two of you were so thoroughly soaked that it’ll be a while before they dry completely. In the meantime, you’ve given him your most oversized sweater and a pair of loose pajama pants to wear when he’s done in the hopes that they’ll fit him. You’re also hoping that Chirithy won’t show up and ask too many questions.

The sound of the bathroom door unlatching makes you turn around. Ephemer emerges, rubbing his curly hair with the towel you lent him. The pants you gave him are definitely too short but otherwise seem to fit him alright, at least until his own clothes are dry.

“Oh, I can take that,” you say when you see Ephemer looking unsure of where to put his towel. “Um, you can sit wherever; I’ll be out in just a second. All our clothes are in the drying machine so they’ll be done in maybe an hour or so.”

“Great, thanks,” Ephemer says, scratching at the back of his neck.

“Yeah, no problem.” All the words are coming out in a rush. “Uh, see you soon.” You escape into the bathroom, hanging up the towel you took from Ephemer on a hook at the back of the door and grabbing more towels out of the small cabinet by the sink.

After the quickest shower you think you’ve ever taken, you exit to find Ephemer lying widthwise across the bottom of your bed on his stomach, flipping through one of the books you keep on your shelf. His hair is almost completely dry already, curls haphazardly sticking up off his head. You flop down next to him and ruffle his hair, causing it to look even more chaotic.

“Do you read much?” you ask, gesturing to the book he’d picked up.

Ephemer shrugs and sets the book down beside him on the bottom of the bed. “I do, actually. Lately it’s been hard to find time between missions, though.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” The rain continues to lash out against your window. It’s gotten much darker and windier since you were out with Ephemer earlier and you’re starting to worry about how he’ll get home. Maybe by the time your clothes are dry the storm will have died down. You roll onto your back and stare at the ceiling of your room, lapsing into comfortable silence as you listen to the sound of the rain.

A flash of lighting suddenly illuminates the room, followed by a distant crack of thunder. Ephemer gets up and presses his face up against your window, turning his head this way and that. “I love thunderstorms,” he says, scanning the horizon for another fork of lightning. “Do you think we could turn the lights off so we can watch it?”

“Sure,” you say, reaching over to turn off the bedside lamp, then pause. “Actually, help me angle the bed towards the window first so we can see better.” With Ephemer’s help, you push the bottom of your bed until it touches the wall, giving you a clear view of the storm.

Another flash of lightning lights up the room and Ephemer jumps onto the bed beside you. “Alright, now turn the lights off so we don’t miss the rest!”

You lean over once more and turn the lamp off. The soft glow from Daybreak Town’s street lights in the town below is just bright enough to let you make out the various objects in your room. After debating with yourself for a few moments, you lift your comforter and snuggle underneath the covers, motioning for Ephemer to do the same. You’ve got the blanket pulled up to your chin, but Ephemer remains on top of the blankets, leaning forward with his arms around his knees as he focuses on the night sky.

A fork of lightning touches down what seems like right beside the clock tower, illuminating the town nestled below for the briefest of moments. Ephemer makes  _ ooh _ and  _ aah _ sounds and you can’t help but giggle at how excited he is.

“Did you see that one?!” He tugs at your arm and points at the window. A sound like the crack of a whip booms throughout the room and you swear you felt the bed shake. In fact, you think  _ you _ might have shook a little in surprise at such a loud thunderclap. Ephemer looks down at you. It’s too dark to see his expression, though his silver-white hair stands out against the dim of your room like a fluffy halo. “You okay?” he asks.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” you say, sitting up a little and shaking your head. “I wasn’t expecting the thunder to be so loud. Must be close.”

“Yeah, I know.” He sounds oddly pleased at the thought.

Another flash of lightning with the thunderclap following almost immediately afterwards, the sound filling your room. You think you even hear your lamp tremble a bit on the bedside table from the volume.

Ephemer leans back against the pillows and pulls some of the covers over himself, draping one arm over the headboard behind you. It’s a bit odd having Ephemer in your room like this, but not uncomfortable. You turn so you’re on your side, with Ephemer between you and the window. He reaches down and ruffles your hair affectionately.

You yawn, extracting one arm from beneath the covers to rub at your eye. “Maybe you should just stay here tonight,” you murmur, drowsiness making your words slur together slightly.

Ephemer doesn’t reply right away, just idly plays with your hair as he stares out the window. There’s a flash of lightning and a crackle of thunder, and the room suddenly becomes much darker than before as the street lights below fizzle out. “I think the power’s out,” says Ephemer.

The way he runs his fingers through your hair is making you sleepy and you find your eyes sliding shut. “Shake me if you need something,” you mumble. “I’m just going to take a little nap.”

Ephemer murmurs some kind of agreement and the last thing you remember thinking about is how nice it is to be piled under warm blankets, safe from the storm with your best friend. 

* * *

Somewhere in the depths of sleep, you hear a familiar  _ poof _ , the sound Chirithy makes when they appear or disappear.

“Are y—oh,” says a small, familiar voice, followed shortly by another  _ poof _ .

You’re about to dismiss it as a dream and continue sleeping, when realization hits you like the shockwave from a Darkside and your eyes fly open. Daytime. It’s definitely daytime, you realize as you stare at the ceiling of your room. You turn to your side and find Ephemer snoozing away on his stomach, his breath warming your shoulder and his arm draped across your ribcage. He looks very peaceful. He’s also taking up far more of your side of the bed than is strictly necessary, as there’s plenty of space beside him to stretch out. But, if you’re being honest, it’s kind of a nice thought to know that he wanted to stay close to you.

Oh no, Chirithy though. Chirithy definitely just showed up to wake you for your mission and... well. You’ve never explicitly asked what the rules were on hanging out with people outside your own Union, mostly because you worried that if the answer wasn’t what you wanted to hear then that might mean you and Ephemer couldn’t hang out anymore. Not knowing somehow seemed like the better option.

You lift your neck up off the pillow to evaluate how best to extract yourself from under Ephemer without waking him up. His arm is surprisingly heavy; it’s almost as though he’s pulling you closer to snuggle next to. You briefly consider just staying here until he wakes up, but no, you’ve got to talk to Chirithy sooner than later. You reach one hand down to the floor beside the bed and try sliding yourself off the mattress and out of his grasp. Every inch you move seems to take an eternity and you’re  _ so _ sure he’s going to wake up – it’s too obvious, too sudden, he’ll feel it as you move away – and yet you manage to slide farther and farther until you’re free from Ephemer’s grasp. Glancing over at his sleeping face, you see him twitch a little and he makes a soft murmuring sort of noise but doesn’t wake up. His hand, no longer holding your side, clenches briefly on the empty sheets. You quietly back away and go into the bathroom to wash up.

Luckily the power seems to have been restored at some point during the night, as everything is back in working order. You wash up and get dressed, then suddenly remember the clothes you left in the drying machine and rush to get them. They’re kind of wrinkly from sitting in the machine all night, but otherwise fine. You return to your bedroom to find Ephemer on his side, staring out the window. He looks over at you as you enter.

“Oh, uh, good morning,” you say, shutting the door with your foot since your arms are full. You’re not sure why you’re feeling so awkward around Ephemer all of a sudden. What’s with the heat rushing to your cheeks?

“Good morning!” he chirps, sitting up.

“I brought your clothes,” you say quickly. “Sorry I forgot to take them out last night – they’re a bit wrinkly.”

“Aw, don’t worry about it. You were sleeping and I didn’t want to wake you up, and then I guess I kinda fell asleep too...” He scratches at the back of his neck, ruffling his hair.

“Yeah of course, I mean, I’m glad you didn’t go out in that storm.” You gesture to the bathroom. “I’ll let you get dressed and stuff. There are towels by the sink. Come downstairs when you’re done, okay?”

Ephemer nods and you leave the room, closing the door behind you again. This is going to be very fun to explain to Chirithy, you think as you head down to your tiny kitchen to round up something you can give to Ephemer for breakfast.

“Chirithy?” you call out quietly when you get downstairs. “Chirithy?”

A  _ poof _ later and Chirithy sits on your countertop. The words pour out of you in a rush before Chirithy even gets a chance to speak. “Hey so um I think you came by this morning and I had my friend over and didn’t tell you, so I’m sorry that I didn’t warn you but also it was storming last night and nothing was really planned all our clothes were just really wet and I didn’t want him going home in the storm and then we fell asleep and um you’re not upset or anything, right?”

Chirithy is quiet for a moment and you suck in another breath to continue apologizing when Chirithy speaks up. “That’s your friend Ephemer, right?”

Your lungs deflate. “Yeah. The friend I made a while back who I hang out with a lot.”

“I’m glad you have friends but... let me know if you want to be alone, alright?”

Your cheeks are on fire. “No, that’s not it, I mean nothing even really... it’s not what you’re thinking. He’s my best friend and I didn’t want him going home in the storm.” You’re so flustered you’ve been looking just about everywhere except at Chirithy, so it’s a surprise when you hear what can only be described as... laughter? coming from your fuzzy companion. “You’re... you’re not upset?”

“Of course not! Having friends is good. I thought you’d be upset that I’d interrupted.”

“No, no, you’re my friend too, Chirithy. It’s my fault for not telling you.” You’re so relieved it’s making you feel a little light-headed.

“Am I interrupting?” A voice over by the stairs causes you to turn around.

“Oh! No, I was just talking with my Chirithy. Actually, I’d like to formally introduce the two of you – Chirithy, this is my friend Ephemer. Ephemer, this is Chirithy.”

“Nice to meet you!” Ephemer says cheerily, walking over to greet Chirithy. Something about the way he looks in his slightly rumpled clothes makes you want to fluff his hair, but you resist the temptation, opening a cupboard to grab some bowls instead.

“Is cereal okay for breakfast?” you ask as you take stock of the options available to you. “I have some bread and jam, too.”

“Cereal’s fine,” Ephemer says, pulling up a stool at your tiny breakfast nook. Chirithy follows your movements around the kitchen as you gather up everything to bring to the table.

After a lively breakfast during which Ephemer tries unsuccessfully to convince Chirithy to reveal any embarrassing stories you’ve had while out on missions, the two of you head out to Fountain Square to start your missions for the day, agreeing to meet up when you’re done to have ice cream together as usual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a really fun chapter to write, too. Honestly this part in the development of their friendship was just excellent in general and I really enjoyed it. I'm taking some liberties with Player's living situation; I assume the youngest kids kind of get their own dorm room, and the older ones (like Player) get something more like a one-bedroom apartment with a teeny kitchen and ensuite bathroom. We only ever see Player and Strelitzia's bedrooms with no real indication of how they fit in with the rest of their living arrangements, and this makes for fun storytelling opportunities, so I'm rolling with it.  
> I got some really good news today too in the midst of all the craziness from this week, so here's hoping some of that good luck rubs off on you!  
> I have more free time than usual so if you're feeling bored you're welcome to drop by my Tumblr at [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com/). I'd love to hear from you!


	8. An Unexpected Surprise

It happens as you’re fighting off one of those annoying Fluttering Heartless in the Underworld. After getting a few good hits in, the Fluttering tucks its head into its wings and whirls towards you, shooting down the hill you’re standing on with alarming speed. You jump to the side to avoid its attack, but one of its wings knocks into your leg and throws you off-balance, causing you to land awkwardly on your ankle when you hit the ground.

You move to stand up again and deflect the Fluttering’s next attack, but a throbbing pain in your foot causes you to suck in a sharp breath and re-evaluate your actions. The Fluttering comes spinning back like a top for another attack, and this time you quickly cast a Reflect spell. The rebound damage takes care of the Heartless and it disappears in a cloud of purple.

Taking another look at your ankle, you raise your keyblade and cast a Cure spell on yourself, but to no avail. It seems your magic isn’t strong enough to take care of this particular injury.

Chirithy appears next to you with a _poof_. “You doing okay?” they ask, noticing the way you favour your other leg for support as you stand up.

“I think I did something to my ankle,” you reply, trying not to move it too much. 

“Oh no!” Chirithy says, hopping back and forth. “Are you gonna be alright? Don’t push yourself!”

You lean against your keyblade as you balance your weight on your good leg. “I’m fine,” you reassure your fuzzy companion, trying to stifle your sharp intake of breath as you test how much weight you can put on your injured foot. Bad idea. “...but I think I’ve got to call it quits on my mission for today.”

Chirithy nods and you raise your keyblade to create a portal back to Daybreak Town, hobbling through a little awkwardly. You arrive in front of the fountain, as always. 

“You’re early!” a familiar voice calls, and you turn in surprise. Ephemer hops off the fountain wall and walks over to you.

“ _You’re_ earlier!” you reply, raising an eyebrow. “Did you have an easy mission today?” 

An unusually bashful grin appears on his face and he tugs at his scarf. “I er, actually took today off. There was something I wanted to do.” It seems to dawn on him that your posture is a bit off and his eyebrows pinch together in concern. “You okay?”

“Well,” you begin with a sigh, looking down at your foot, “I landed kinda awkwardly on my ankle and now it hurts to walk on, so I came back early from my mission. My Cure spell isn’t good enough to fix it so I was thinking I’d put it on some ice at home.”

“Oh no!” Ephemer immediately comes to stand at your side, placing your arm over his shoulders so you can use him as support. “Do you need help getting home?”

“That would be great, actua–whoa! What are you doing?” 

Without waiting for you to finish replying, Ephemer places one arm behind your back and the other at your knees before scooping you up in his arms and carrying you over to the stairs away from the fountain. “I’m helping you home,” he replies cheekily.

“I–yes, I mean… I meant you could just help me _walk_ there, not _carry_ me all the way over…!” When you reach the stairs, Ephemer puts a foot on the bottom step and begins slowly climbing up. You wrap your arms more tightly around his neck. “Look, Ephemer, I really appreciate it but I’m not as easy to carry up the stairs as–”

“It’s _fine_ ,” Ephemer says firmly, and you glance up to see him smiling down at you. “Honest! Your house isn’t even that far.”

Still grumbling a bit to yourself, you lay your head against his shoulder in defeat. “Thank you,” you mumble into his scarf. You can feel his laughter rumbling through his chest.

“You’re welcome,” he replies with a smile in his voice, taking a moment to adjust his grip on you. “There, look! Made it to the top of the staircase.”

You glance over his shoulder and see that you have indeed made it to the top of the stairs. “All right, you got me,” you concede. “Ice cream’s on me next week.”

“Oh, I like the sound of that,” Ephemer says, continuing down the path to your house. “I’ll have to carry you around more often.”

“Not likely!” you reply indignantly. “Besides, this should heal up soon enough and I’ll be back to whacking Heartless in no time.”

Ephemer looks over at your legs. “So what happened, anyway?”

“Oh…” It’s not exactly a story of your finest hour. “There was a Fluttering coming down the hill towards me and I misjudged the distance needed to dodge it.”

“And you make fun of me for tripping over ‘nothing’!”

“There was a Heartless that ran into me! _You_ trip over regular stones on the walkways.”

“Some of them are loose!”

You giggle at the pouty look on his face. “You know, you still haven’t shown me that ‘cool move’ you mentioned ages ago.”

“Oh…” The corners of his lips turn down in thought. “I guess we haven’t really had to fight anything together, huh? It’s not like they send people in different parties to do missions together.”

“Yeah, that’s true. It’d be nice if they did, though.”

He nods in agreement, then looks down at you. “We’re here,” he says. “If I move you over to it, can you get the door? My hands are a bit full.”

After some slightly skillful maneuvering, the two of you manage to make it inside. Ephemer insists on carrying you all the way to your bed before he sets you down, despite your protests against him carrying you up yet another flight of stairs. For all his chivalry, he does seem to be quite exhausted from carrying you all this way. His button-up shirt sticks to his skin and his cheeks are flushed from the effort. 

“What do you need?” he asks in a slightly breathless voice, eyeing your ankle anxiously. Now that you’re able to take a better look at it, it appears to be a bit swollen and red. 

“Well, if you could get me some ice, a plastic bag, and a towel from my kitchen, that’d be great. Bring the cushions off the couch, too, so I can prop my foot up.”

He leaves the room with a determined expression on his face. It’s… rather nice having him worry about you. And you’re not sure how you would have gotten home without his help.

There’s a small _poof_ and your Chirithy appears in a cloud of white. “Are you okay?” they ask, glancing between you and your injured foot. “You got home faster than I thought!”

“Ephemer helped,” you explain, gesturing to the bedroom door. “He’s downstairs getting me some ice for my foot.” You smile at Chirithy. “You don’t have to worry; I’m in good hands.”

Chirithy lets out a sigh of relief. “That’s good to hear. I know I can’t do much, but do you want me to check on you now and then or do you, um, want to be alone?”

“Oh! Um…” Chirithy’s phrasing oddly causes your face to go red. “I’ll… call for you if I need you?”

“Got it,” Chirithy says, their eyes creasing happily. “You should probably rest up tomorrow, too. The missions will wait until you’re better!”

“Thanks, Chirithy. See you later.”

Chirithy nods and gives a little hop before disappearing just as Ephemer reappears in the doorway. His arms are full of couch cushions–including the seat cushions.

“I uh… wasn’t really sure what you meant by ‘couch cushion’ so I just brought everything I could.” He deposits the cushions on the floor beside you.

You laugh and shake your head. “Well, I’d actually meant the pillows, not the whole couch, but this will do too.” You pick up two of the cushions and stack them at the bottom of the bed before setting your foot down on top.

“Oh, I have the other stuff, too,” he says, handing you a tea towel, plastic bag, and, to your mild amusement, an entire ice tray. It’s clear he’s a little out of his element. 

You shake some of the ice out into the bag and seal it, then roll it up in the towel before tying it around your ankle to secure it in place. “Perfect,” you say, looking up at him when you’re finished. “Now all that’s left for me to do is let it rest, I’m afraid.”

“Hmm…” Ephemer muses, bringing a hand under his chin. “Will you be alright on your own for a bit? I’ll be right back.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. You don’t have to stick around, though, Ephemer; I can take care of the rest mys–”

Almost as though he didn’t hear the last part, Ephemer pats your head and says, “Great, I’ll be back before you know it,” before you can finish your sentence. He carefully closes the door behind himself, and a warm feeling settles around your heart at his consideration. You really couldn’t have asked for a better friend.

* * *

Even before he enters your room, you know Ephemer must be back in your house by the sound of several of your kitchen drawers opening and closing. What on earth is he looking for…? Your unspoken question is answered a moment later when Ephemer arrives in your bedroom doorway, his arms full of various items which he brings over to the table beside your bed and sits down next to you.

“Okay, so the Moogle in the marketplace told me that if your foot hurts, you should take this for the pain,” he says, passing you a corked bottle of some kind of green liquid. “And then I wasn’t sure what you’d need so I also got a bunch of these cloth bandage things in case they’re helpful. Oh, here’s another one of those pain potion things in case you need it later. I wanted to get you another blanket or something since I figured you’d be cold with the ice all the time but all I could find were these fuzzy socks so I thought you could wear them to keep your other foot warm at least. Turns out you can only get sea salt ice cream in bars, but I thought that would be kinda messy to eat in bed so I got this little container of vanilla ice cream instead and found some spoons in your kitchen so we can still do our ice cream thing.”

At last, he takes a breath to look over at you. “Oh! A-are you okay? Does it hurt?”

“No, you big dork,” you say, wiping at the tears welling up in your eyes. You open your arms and motion him over. “Come here.”

Perhaps still a bit confused, Ephemer sets the tub of ice cream back on your nightstand and crawls over the bed to flop down diagonally in your arms in a hug.

“This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me,” you mumble into his scarf. “Thank you.”

He squeezes you tighter, and his weight on top of you is comforting, his body still warm from running errands out in the bright sunlight. His hair tickles your cheek and you can feel his heartbeat next to yours. He lets you hold him like that for quite a while and you’re the first to pull back, ruffling his hair. “The ice cream you brought’s gonna melt, you know,” you say softly. 

He heaves a great sigh and rolls off of you onto his back. “Yeah, you’re right. There was one other thing I wanted to do before we ate it, though.” Sitting up, he turns to you. “Do you have any extra blankets or pillows?”

Your forehead furrowing in confusion, you gesture to the closet next to the bathroom door. “I have some spare sheets on the top shelf?”

He nods and gets up off the bed to retrieve them. You watch him with a curious gaze as he drags the chair beside your bed over so its back is next to you, then picks up the rest of the couch cushions off the floor and stacks them on your bedside table on the opposite side of the bed. You sit up a bit and readjust the ice back on your ankle while he picks up your fitted sheet and stretches it out over your headboard, and then onto the top of the chair and stack of cushions like a canopy. 

“Are you… are you building a pillow fort?” you ask as Ephemer carefully places some books on top of his stack of couch cushions to weigh the sheet down. 

He grins at you. “Sure am.” He drapes the last sheet over the opening, then folds it back so he can crawl in with you and hands you the tub of ice cream along with a spoon. You prop yourself up to more of a sitting position and pry the lid off the container as Ephemer settles in beside you, shoulder-to-shoulder. 

The ice cream is cool against your tongue, and though the flavour lacks the saltiness you’ve become accustomed to, the gesture of bringing it to you when you can’t make it out to the lighthouse more than makes up for it. “Not quite the same as watching the sunset with sea-salt ice cream,” you tease, scooping up another spoonful of the vanilla dessert before offering the container to Ephemer, “buuut I’ll accept it as a substitute.”

Ephemer laughs, grabbing a spoonful of ice cream. “Just don’t go getting hurt again!” he says and then adds, a little quieter, “I worry about you.”

“Honestly I worry about _you_. You didn’t have to carry me all that way.”

“Yeah, well,” he says, scratching at the back of his neck. “What are friends for, huh?”

You turn to look at him, a warm feeling wrapping around your chest. You couldn’t have asked for a kinder, more considerate friend. Just having him here has made all your troubles seem so far away.

He catches you looking at him and gives you a soft smile. “What’s up?”

You shake your head. “I’m just glad you’re here, is all.” His blue eyes study yours until you smile and look down, scooping more ice cream onto your spoon.

A quiet falls over the two of you as you work away at the ice cream. After a few more spoonfuls, Ephemer speaks up. “Do you ever wonder what other kinds of worlds are out there?”

“Besides the ones we’ve been to? I wonder how many more there are.”

“I heard once that all the stars in the sky represent different worlds. Or maybe it was just that there are supposed to be as many worlds as there are stars.”

“Can you imagine?” You tilt your head to the side. “If there were that many worlds, I could’ve gone to a different one on every mission and still not seen them all.”

“Just think of the possibilities!” he says, waving his spoon around as he gestures. “Maybe there’s a world that’s entirely underwater, or one that’s underground, or a world where it snows all the time! There’s so much out there we haven’t seen yet.”

“I hope someday we’ll get to explore it for real,” you say, scraping at the bottom of the container for another spoonful of ice cream. “You know. No Heartless, and no missions. Just travelling to see what’s out there.”

Ephemer’s eyes sparkle as he looks at you. “Yes! And there wouldn’t be any fighting or competitions or collecting Lux, just travelling together and seeing new things.”

His enthusiasm is infectious and you find yourself smiling at the possibilities. “It’d be fun exploring a new world with you. Somewhere neither of us have ever been.”

"It’d be an adventure!” he agrees, scraping one final spoonful of ice cream out of the container. He offers it to you. “Here, you can have the last bite.”

“Oh, no, you can go ahead,” you reply, waving the spoon away. 

He waggles the ice cream in front of your face. “But I bought it for you! Please?” 

He shoots you his best puppy dog face and you cave, rolling your eyes towards the ceiling at how easily he gets you to agree. “Yeah, okay, you win,” you say, opening your mouth so he can feed you the spoonful of ice cream. It's a little messy and you lick your lips afterwards to get the bit that stuck under your nose. The small container was really just the right size for you and Ephemer to share. You hand him your spoon as well and he crawls out of the pillow fort to set it down out of the way. 

“Do you need more ice or anything?” His voice sounds like he’s over by the bedroom door.

You lean forward and lift up the end of the canopy so you can inspect your injury. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” you say, unwrapping the towel from your foot and handing him the bag of mostly-watery ice. “Just empty that in the sink and put some more ice in.” Ephemer nods to you with a solemn expression and you giggle at his seriousness. “You don’t have to worry so much! It’s already looking better, see? Not as pink and puffy as before.”

“I know,” he says, relaxing some of the tension from his shoulders. “I just wish I knew more about treating injuries like this. I’ll be better prepared next time!”

“Well, I sure hope there won’t be a next time,” you say, chuckling, “but I appreciate the thought, Ephemer. You’re sweet.”

He grins at you and bounds down the stairs, bringing you another tray of ice in record time. You wrap your foot up with some of the bandages he brought you earlier to keep it from moving too much, then adjust the new bag of ice around your ankle. Ephemer watches all of this with unusual seriousness, asking questions on what you’re doing and why almost as though he’s taking notes. At last, you both burrow back under the pillow fort canopy. The last rays of the setting sun shine brightly through your window, casting a rosy tint on the sheets. 

“You know, if there really is a world that’s entirely underwater…” you begin, thinking of the conversation you’d had with Ephemer earlier, “how do you plan on breathing down there, anyway?”

“Hmm…” Ephemer flips onto his stomach and buries his chin in the pillow. “Maybe we could use some kind of underwater boat? Or our keyblades might have some kind of trick that would let us breathe normally. If the world is underwater, maybe the people living there have technology that helps them breathe underwater, too, and we could use that.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that last one,” you say. “I’d worry about it being too cold in a world where it was always snowy. Having to venture out to find the Huge Snowman Heartless outside Beast’s Castle is cold enough if you ask me.”

“Aw, but snow is so fun!” He turns on his side to look at you. “It hardly ever snows around here. Imagine sledding down a snowy mountain! Or going ice skating!”

“Maybe we should head out to Beast’s Castle after our mission one of these times and see if we could find somewhere to skate out in the courtyard, or even make our own skating rink.”

“That would be so fun! I’ve never been ice skating.” He rolls onto his back and chuckles to himself. “I’d probably fall over a lot.”

“All right, it’s a plan. Whenever my foot’s better, we’ll get together and go skating after our mission. Deal?”

“Deal!” he agrees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're quickly ascending the slope to peak tooth-rotting fluff :)  
> I ended up going a little bit into how I figure Cure magic works -- I tend to think of it like a spell that will close wounds and scratches, but it can't actually knit bones back together or get rid of bruises, which require rest like any other injury. If you're really skilled with magic you might be able to alleviate some of the symptoms of more serious injuries, but you can't make them disappear entirely.  
> As always, if you want some more KH content you're welcome to drop by my Tumblr at [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com/). I'd love to hear from you!


	9. Treasured Memories

“You know, you didn’t have to come over every day,” you murmur, tilting your head up to look at Ephemer from where you’re nestled in the crook of his arm. A sliver of moonlight from your bedroom window casts shadows over his face.

“Yeah, I know,” he replies, rubbing a circle into your shoulder with his thumb. “But it’s kinda lonely not meeting up with you at the lighthouse after my mission.”

That makes you smile. “Honestly I might have lost my mind from the boredom if you didn’t come by. Being cooped up here for a week with no missions is getting to me, especially now that my foot feels almost completely fine again. But Chirithy says I shouldn’t push it, so I agreed to wait.”

“Your Chirithy is right, though.” You can feel Ephemer’s voice rumble through his chest, his breath ruffling your hair.

You sigh, smoothing out a wrinkle on Ephemer’s shirt. “I know. Which is why I’m still here instead of out fighting Heartless.”

Ephemer presses his face against your hair, seemingly taking a moment to think. It’s so calm, being here with him. He’s come over every day after his mission to spend time with you and make sure you’re doing alright, often staying late into the evening just to talk and keep you company. Judging by the position of the moon above the horizon, though, it might be time for him to go home before it gets too late. There’s a part of you that hopes he hasn’t noticed the time passing and will stay just a little longer. Maybe it would be too greedy of you, too selfish to ask him to stay, and yet…

“So I was thinking–”

“Hey, about tonight–”

You both stop suddenly, not wanting to interrupt the other. “Go ahead,” you say, pulling back so you can support your weight on your elbows and look up at him. He stares down at where you’d been resting your head and pulls at the bedsheets beside you, creating wrinkles that he pinches between his fingers.

“Um, well… I was wondering if… and don’t feel like you have to agree – but I was thinking and um…” He lets out a puff of air and taps his fingers against your mattress before restarting his sentence, reaching up with his other hand to scratch at the back of his ear. “WouldyoumindifIstayedovertonight?”

You’re pretty sure your face is going to split in two from how wide your smile is, so you press your face into the bedsheets to hide the blazing temperature creeping into your cheeks. You can’t help yourself from giggling at how absurd it was that you were both nervous about asking the same thing, and how extraordinarily  _ happy _ it makes you knowing that your best friend wants to stay here, with you, even when you’re not at your best.

“Oh, are you oka--wait, are you laughing?”

You turn onto your side, covering your face with your hands. “I was going to ask you the same thing,” you explain, an embarrassed smile making your face feel hot to the touch.

Ephemer gently pries your hands away from your cheeks and you both smile goofily at each other, unable to maintain eye contact. “I just don’t want to intrude,” he says, “since the first time was kind of an accident.”

You shake your head. “You’re more than welcome to stay over here anytime you like.”

Ephemer stares up at the ceiling with a smile, and despite the dim lighting you notice that his cheeks have a bit more colour than usual as well. “Thanks,” he says, pushing his hair off his forehead before letting it flop back down, the curls stacking messily on top of each other. He glances over at you and opens his mouth slightly like he’s going to say something else, but then lets out his breath and stares back up at the ceiling again, a tiny smile pulling one corner of his lips upwards.

“Something on your mind?” you ask, propping yourself up on your elbows again so you can see him better.

He covers part of his face with his hand and takes a deep breath before speaking to the ceiling, seemingly unable to meet your gaze. “I was thinking that it was really comfy before, when we were… y’know.” He moves his arm to allow you to shuffle closer, which you do, resting your head on his chest and wrapping your arm around him. He cradles you close with a hand on your shoulder and lets out a contented sigh, his chest rising and falling beneath you. 

“I might fall asleep like this,” you murmur, gently tracing along his collarbone with your finger. 

He brushes your hair back from your face. “I wouldn’t mind,” he says softly.

You find your eyes sliding shut, feeling so calm and comfortable with his arms wrapped around you. You try to sync your breathing to the rising and falling of Ephemer’s chest. The steady rhythm is relaxing. Nestled together like this, your troubles feel more than a million worlds away...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is suuuuper fluffy ~~and it's not even the sweetest chapter I've written for this fic oho~~. It actually became mildly more relevant recently because of everyone having to stay home and self-isolate, though here Player is just trapped inside because of their foot. I hope everyone is doing alright throughout this! Maybe get a drink of water after this chapter and message someone you care about?  
> As always, if you want some more KH content you're welcome to drop by my Tumblr at [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com/). I take prompts and HC requests, too!


	10. Dance of the Daring

“Well, this isn’t so ba—whoa!” Ephemer shouts, arms flailing slightly before he recovers his balance. He taps one skate on the thick ice, eyebrows pushed together beneath a warm knitted hat that flattens his curls against his forehead. “I think we did all right making the rink, at least.”

It isn’t a perfect skating rink by any means, but a combination of water and blizzard magic had allowed the two of you to create a tiny patch of slick ice in the middle of the winter wonderland outside of Beast’s Castle. The skates feel very odd and slippery on your feet as you stand up and try to make your way over to Ephemer. He’d finished putting on his skates before you and taken a few experimental (and rather wobbly) strides around the rink.

As you near him you stumble and Ephemer catches your hand, your momentum causing you to slide forward. He spins you around in a slow circle so you don’t both go tumbling to the ground, the two of you ending up in a pose reminiscent of ballroom dancing by the time you stop sliding.

"M-may I have this dance?" you joke, a bit flustered by how close your faces are. His breath warms your cheeks and creates puffs of white around you. 

Ephemer laughs and readjusts the hand wrapped around your back so it's at your waist, then extends the arm still holding your hand as though he's about to begin the tango. "I would love to dance," he replies with a grin as he pushes off with one skate to send you both drifting towards the centre of the rink. The backwards movement throws you a little off-balance again and you clutch at the back of Ephemer's coat to stabilize yourself. Ephemer wobbles a bit too and hugs you closer, laughing as the two of you drift past the center of the rink since neither of you are particularly good at stopping. 

"We seem to be leaving the dance floor behind us," you say as you slowly slide farther down the rink. 

"Maybe I should've let you be the lead," Ephemer jokes. He glances over your shoulder and raises his eyebrows. "We're coming up on a snow bank in three… two… one…!"

Your skates slide partially into the fluffy snow along the side of the rink before sharply angling downwards and slipping out from under you. You let out a small "eep!" and cling to Ephemer for balance but it's no use - the two of you are deposited unceremoniously into a pile of snow. 

Ephemer ends up higher up than you, such that your face is smooshed sideways into his chest, his scarf creating a cocoon that muffles the sound around you. Some snow finds its way into the gap between your neck and the collar of your coat and you squirm a little, trying not to let it touch your skin. Ephemer leans to one side to take some of his weight off you before shuffling down so his elbows are on either side of your shoulders supporting him. 

"You alright?" he asks, sounding a little breathless. You're very, very close together, perhaps encouraged by the fact that you still have your arms wrapped around his back from where you held him as you were falling. Some of the snow drops farther down your back and your muscles seize up a little from the unexpected cold, your shoulders hunching close to your neck and your back arching involuntarily to get away from the freezing liquid. 

"C-cold!" you manage to blurt out by way of explanation. "There's snow in my coat." 

"Oh!" says Ephemer, leaning his weight to the side so he can tug one of his gloves off. "Here, let me help." 

Unexpectedly, he reaches for the zipper on your collar and begins to unzip part of it, and then his warm fingers are on your neck trying to brush away the leftover snow. You have the funny sensation of feeling both too cold and too hot to breathe properly. 

"There," he says after what's probably only a few short moments. "Better?" 

"Y-yeah," you reply. "Thanks."

He smiles at you and then leans down, his face coming quite close to yours and for a second your brain forgets how to think—

"Sorry, had to reach over you to get my glove," Ephemer says, rolling onto his side so he's no longer pressed up on top of you. "Ready to try again?" 

It takes you a few seconds to process what he's saying. You remove one of your own mittens so you can properly zip up your coat again and find that your cheeks are blazingly hot, or maybe it's just a result of how cold your fingers are from being outside in the snow…. 

Ephemer stands shakily up on his skates and offers you a hand. "Need some help?" 

You blink your eyes a couple times to clear your head and nod before putting your hand in his. "Thanks." 

* * *

“Having trouble with that knot?” you tease Ephemer as he struggles to undo the laces of his skates. You’d managed to remove yours not moments earlier but Ephemer remains planted in the snow bank, his fingers struggling to grip the base of the knot to undo it.

“I think my hands are too cold for this,” he says, stretching his arms and straightening up. “Guess I’m doomed to become a professional ice skater.”

You grin. “Aw, I’m sure we can do something about that. I can’t have you getting better at skating than me.” You crouch down by his skates and tug your mittens off to free your fingers to grab the edges of the laces around the knot. Turns out Ephemer is quite right – his laces are tied very tightly and it’s difficult to tug at the knot to undo it.

“Told you it was hard!” Ephemer says as he watches you struggle with the knot, but moments later one of the laces loosens slightly and you manage to pull it free, disentangling the whole knot.

You shoot him a sarcastic grin with one eyebrow raised as you put your mittens back on and he rolls his eyes. “I… loosened it for you,” he says with a little laugh. “Pass me my boot?”

You oblige, but as you hand him the boot he suddenly grabs your wrist and pulls you down face-first into the fluffy snow beside him. “Pleh!” you say, shaking snow out of your face.

“Gotcha!” he says, laughing as he puts his boot on.

You take advantage of his momentary distraction to gather a ball of snow in your mittens and lob it at his shoulder, the impact causing it to burst apart and shower his front with snow.

He looks up, mouth open slightly in surprise. “Oh, _now_ you’re in for it,” he says, bringing his legs up to crouch on the snow and gathering an enormous pile of snow in front of him.

“Not if you can’t catch me!” you say, rolling over the edge of the snow bank onto the ice and slip-sliding your way to the other side. Even with boots on, the ice is slick under your feet and you throw your arms out on either side of your body to maintain your balance. A snowball sails past your side and explodes onto the glassy surface of the ice and you laugh, chancing a glance behind you to see that Ephemer is pursuing you across the rink with an armful of snow.

You reach the other side and half-walk, half-fall into the snow bank as your boots slip on top of the icy surface, desperately grabbing another handful of snow to lob at Ephemer before he reaches you but as you turn to throw it you see another snowball coming right towards your face. You bring your arms up to protect yourself but it’s too late – there’s a _thunk_ as the snow hits its mark and showers your hair with snow then a small whoop of victory and you’re tackled into the snow bank, the fight over already.

You wipe the snow off your face and see Ephemer flopped diagonally on top of you facing the other way, preventing you from getting up. You pick up some snow with one hand and gently stack it on top of his knitted hat. He makes a vaguely disgruntled noise which is muffled by his scarf up around his face. “I can’t hear you, sunshine; you’re going to have to get up,” you say, patting some of the snow you’d set onto his hat into place.

He shakes his head a bit so his scarf settles around his neck again and shoots you a grin with one eyebrow raised. “‘Sunshine’?”

It takes you a second to register what he means. “Oh… I guess that just sort of came out. Does it bother you?”

“No!” Ephemer says rather quickly. “Er…” He looks away. “...you could use it sometimes.”

You grin and brush away the snow on his hat again. “...Maybe I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have _way_ too much fun writing this fluff. I actually wrote the first part of this chapter ages ago and came back and wrote the second part when I was shuffling around some scenes so they flowed better. Sometimes I look at this fic and I'm like y'know, I really did write some 100k+ of fluff. Congratulations KHUx characters, you're officially the characters I've written the most fic for, ever. ~~I'm actually working on another AU for this year's Camp NaNo... so there's that to look forward to later ;)~~  
>  Anyway, if you're inclined for some more KHUx character content, drop by my KH Tumblr [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com/). I take prompts and HC requests too! It's something nice to do while stuck inside :)


	11. Innocent Times

“You know, I heard the other day that most people can’t maintain eye contact during a conversation longer than a couple of seconds.”

Ephemer rears his head back in disbelief. “That seems fake. I mean, it’s not like I  _ always _ stare someone in their eyes when talking to them, ‘cause I’m like gesturing and explaining stuff, but I think I  _ could _ .”

You shrug. “Well I’m not saying it’s absolutely true.” You glance over at him and make eye contact and… now you’re overthinking if you should break eye contact or not. You look back out at the sunset. “But I do think a lot of people are uncomfortable with prolonged eye contact.”

He chuckles at this, probably having noticed how you looked away while talking. That or you’re just really overthinking everything now that it’s on your mind. “I think you can tell a lot about people from their gaze.” He turns abruptly, swinging one leg back inside the lighthouse so he’s straddling the windowsill. “Here, let’s test something. Stare into my eyes.”

Now it’s your turn to flinch in surprise. “Wait, what?” He’s giving you his best puppy-dog face and you sigh. “What, like a staring contest? You know I’ll lose.”

“No, I just mean like, we’ll see if we can maintain eye contact for a while. You can still blink and stuff. But don’t look away.”

This seems like a pretty weird ask but… you’re also strangely intrigued. You do the same as Ephemer, swinging a leg inside the windowsill so you can sit facing him. “All right. How long are we doing this for?”

He shrugs. “I dunno, let’s just see. First person to break away owes the other person ice cream for the week.”

That’s actually slightly more motivating, since often you’re the one buying the ice cream due to arriving earlier than Ephemer. “All right, let’s go.” You turn and blink a couple times in preparation and Ephemer’s eyes meet yours.

You’re both kind of quiet for the first few moments and you feel your face grow warm under his gaze. His eyes are a lovely, crystal blue colour, though just now they look almost purplish as they reflect the red hues of the sunset. You look him in the eyes of course when you’re talking to each other, but it occurs to you that you’ve never really taken the time to actually study their colour. And well, you’re both committed to staring each other down for the next few minutes so what better opportunity to observe than now, you suppose.

“Your eyes are a nice colour,” Ephemer says, breaking the semi-silence between the two of you. “The sunlight makes them look really bright and pretty.”

You smile, a little embarrassed, and it takes extra effort to continue looking into his eyes. “Um, thanks,” you say. “Are there any rules about talking for this experiment?”

“Nah, that seems a bit silly.”

“Alright.” You study the blue of his eyes a little more. “You have a nice eye colour, too,” you say. “Your eyes look almost a bit purple in this light.”

“Really?” Ephemer says, and for a moment it seems like he’s eager to look up in thought or just look away in order to think, but he pulls himself together, raising his eyebrows briefly at you and grinning a little. “You know, you’re right, this is harder than I thought it was going to be.”

“Well I’ve already learned why people don’t generally do prolonged eye contact. Imagine if we hadn’t agreed on this and I was just staring you down as you tried to have a normal conversation.”

“Spooky,” he replies, smirking. You notice the way his eyes crinkle up when he’s smiling. He’s got freckles, too, across his nose and cheeks. They’re not super prominent, but they’re interesting to look at now that you’re stuck staring into his eyes. You’re tempted to lower your gaze and actually study the rest of his face but stay resolute in your conviction to out-stare Ephemer, instead using your peripheral vision to take note of his features.

“Have you always had freckles?” you ask.

His gaze wavers slightly again as though he wants to look off to the side to think. “Yeah. They were a lot more obvious when I was little. If I’ve been out in the sun a lot you can see them more, too. I never used to like them, but they’re all right now.”

You smile. “I think they suit you.”

He grins back. “Thanks.”

You’re both quiet for a little while longer, and you switch your gaze from one eye to the other, reminding yourself not to look away. There might be some truth to what he said about someone’s gaze telling you a lot about them. Ephemer’s eyes are open and honest, and even without having known him as long as you have you’d be able to tell by looking in his eyes that he’s someone that enjoys making people smile. Or maybe you’re reading too much into this.

“Do you think that’s why the foretellers wear masks?” you ask, thinking. “So people can’t tell as much about them through their eyes?”

“I always did think that was odd,” Ephemer agrees. “It’s harder to tell if the foretellers are happy or displeased or angry or sad… you can get some expression through tone of voice, of course, or through body language, but I think eyes are a big part of understanding someone’s current mood.”

“Do you think the foretellers picked their own masks? Do they wear them around each other or just when they make announcements or go out in public?”

Ephemer blinks a few times. “Well, they wouldn’t wear them  _ all _ the time. Right? That’d just be weird. So it’s gotta be a choice, unless someone’s forced it on them.”

“But who would force them to wear masks? Aren’t they all kind of at the top of the Union tier?”

He raises his eyebrows. “Don’t you know of the Master of Masters?”

“The Master of… Masters?”

“Yeah. He’s the leader of the foretellers. No one’s seen him around for a while, though, not since before I became a keyblade wielder. The foretellers are all his apprentices.”

You frown in thought. “So, if he’s the leader of all the foretellers… you think he’d make them wear masks?”

He shrugs. “I dunno. But if it’s not their personal choice then he’s the only person I could see making them wear masks.”

“That’s an interesting thought.” It’s getting easier looking into Ephemer’s eyes now; almost like a habit. You pull both your legs up in front of you so you can sit cross-legged on the windowsill. “Though, what reason would anyone have to make their apprentices wear masks?”

“Good point. I mean, the most normal answer is simply that it’s a style choice of sorts. We all recognize the animal masks of the foretellers. And it lends them a bit of a mysterious authoritative quality which is probably good if you’re in charge of an entire Union.” He adjusts his position too, bringing one foot up to the windowsill to rest his arm off of. You’re starting to feel like you’re really working your peripheral vision now to take this all in.

“And the not-so-normal answer?”

“I dunno. Maybe their faces are deformed. Or maybe their faces are all blank or something. Maybe the masks hide some sort of tattoo or scar.”

“I can’t imagine wearing a mask all the time though, even if I did have something on my face to cover up,” you say, bringing your own hand to your cheek. “Wait, did you say they might have blank faces? What do you mean?”

He laughs. “That one’s pretty out there. I’ve heard people suggest that the foretellers might actually be clones or really convincing robots but that their faces would give away what they are, so they wear masks. I can’t imagine that’s really the case – I don’t even know who they’d be clones of, and if they’re robots then they’re so convincing that I don’t know the distinction would really matter.”

That’s a weird thought. But, it’s all just speculation anyway. “Maybe we should just ask one of the foretellers why they wear a mask,” you joke.

Ephemer looks thoughtful. “I doubt we’d get a straight answer. It’s not easy to just casually talk to the foretellers either.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” You almost look down to think again but catch yourself, remembering to maintain eye contact. The sun has probably set by now; the direct sunlight is gone from Ephemer’s face. You can see flecks of green in the blue of his eyes. You rub at your own eye and yawn. “We’re not going to be at this  _ all _ night, are we? I do have to go home and sleep.”

“I mean, it’s up to you. I wouldn’t complain if you had to buy ice cream the rest of the week.” His gaze darts between your eyes.

“I mean, I mostly end up buying it anyway so it’s not even a huge loss for me,” you say. “If you’re on ice cream duty you gotta beat me to the fountain, too, okay?”

“Whoa, we can’t introduce new rules when we’re in the middle of things,” he says, wagging a finger at you. 

“Says the boy who decided to add the rule that it’s okay to talk!”

“Well it would’ve been weird just staring at each other in silence--ahh! No! That’s not fair!”

You take advantage of the fact that he’s determinedly staring only into your eyes to launch a surprise tickle attack on his sides, instantly causing him to break eye contact to look down and protect his body. He grabs your arms and pins them to your sides, leaning as far out of reach as he can until you give in, laughing. “So who owes me ice cream this week?”

“That was  _ definitely _ cheating,” he complains, still eyeing your hands cautiously. “What kind of a person would I be if I gave in to cheating?”

“It’s not cheating if we didn’t establish it wasn’t an option!” you declare, then drop into a more sincere tone. “It’s all right; I was getting tired to be honest. We can just do ice cream as normal.”

Your sincerity seems to throw him a little off-guard. “Oh. Well… no, I’ll buy ice cream this week. I’ll try to finish my missions early so I can be at the fountain before you get there.”

You shake your head. “Nah, it’s fine, really.”

“Nope,” he says, “I’ve decided that’s what we’re doing.” He looks at you again and it’s almost odd making eye contact after such a long time of staring into each other’s eyes. Without the pressure of the competition to make you unable to look away, you’re free to actually inspect the light dusting of freckles across his cheeks, the little creases around his eyes when he smiles, and the way his silver-white curls seem to make the blue of his eyes pop. “Something on my face?” he asks, confused.

You look away and chuckle, a little embarrassed to be caught staring. “Oh, no. I was just lost in thought. We should head back, probably.”

He nods and hops off the windowsill, reaching towards the trapdoor that leads to the stairs. You watch after him idly, returning to your thoughts. Will you remember moments like these when you get older? You hope so. Ice cream and sunsets with your best friend – those are the memories truly worth remembering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one I wrote much much later than the surrounding chapters, actually. More silly adventures up on the lighthouse with Ephemer and Player.  
> As per usual, you can find me over on my KH Tumblr [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com/). Come swap notes with me about AU ideas; I've been writing a lot in my spare time :)


	12. An Unbreakable Connection

_ I need more affection than you know _

_ A sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah _

_ Where fears and lies melt away _

You open your eyes to find that you’d accidentally fallen asleep, snoozing away with your head in Ephemer’s lap on the lighthouse windowsill. The sun is no longer shining radiantly on your side, and you shift your head to look at the horizon where it had sunk into the ocean. The sky is a spectacular pinkish orange colour that’s making the ocean waves look like they’re made out of rose gold as they push up against the shore.

“’Morning, sleepyhead,” Ephemer says with a smile in his voice, and you glance up to see him flash you a contented grin. He turns to look at the horizon like you had, the smile fading into a rather thoughtful expression. His hand, still resting by your head, idly ruffles your hair.

“I wasn’t asleep  _ that _ long,” you complain, finding his other hand with yours and tracing along his fingers, pushing them straight and watching as they curl back into place. You’d just been really comfortable here in his lap, his legs providing a sort of cocoon on either side of you, and the murmured conversation between the two of you had faded into the sound of the ocean waves lapping up against the base of the lighthouse...

“You weren’t,” he concedes, chuckling softly. “You let me talk for a couple extra minutes before I realized you’d fallen asleep, though.”

You pause in your tracing along his fingers and give his hand a squeeze instead, looking up apologetically. “Oh, I’m really sorry, Ephemer. I didn’t really mean to fall asleep; it was just so comfortable here…”

He leans down to rest his head on top of yours, and his breath ruffles your hair as he chuckles again. “I’m just teasing, peach. You probably needed the sleep.”

Perhaps you did… but even so. It seems rude to fall asleep in the middle of a conversation. Then it occurs to you. “...Did you just call me ‘peach’?”

“Uh…” Ephemer scratches at the back of his neck as you twist to look at him and you can see his cheeks growing a bit pink. “Yeah, I wanted to come up with a nickname for you too and I was thinking, y’know, ‘cause you’re sweet and easy to get along with like, um, peaches and cream…” He seems unable to meet your gaze, which is probably for the best as your cheeks are feeling rather warm as well.

“I could get used to that,” you say, turning back around and giving his hand a small squeeze “...Sunshine.”

He lets out a little breath of laughter and leans back against the side of the window again and you fall back as well, your head against his chest as he brings a hand up to play with your hair once more. “So, what were you talking about?” you ask. “Promise I won’t fall asleep this time.”

“Nah, it was just something silly about today’s mission, I think.” His fingers seem a little tense in your hair as he says this.

It seems like an odd topic to press so you let it go, your regret at having fallen asleep in the middle of your conversation settling somewhere at the bottom of your stomach. You cast your gaze downwards and watch the rosy waves make their way towards shore. 

Silence stretches out between the two of you, and Ephemer’s hands relax a bit more as he traces patterns along your shoulders with his fingertips. You feel like if you start talking now, one of you will have to point out that the sun has already set and you ought to be getting back home before it gets too dark. Your cheeks grow a little warm as you remember some of the other nights when it had gotten late and Ephemer had stayed the night, but… well. You both have a mission tomorrow, and it hasn’t been that long since he last stayed over anyway. He probably wants to sleep at his own place sometimes, too, and it would be a bit awkward to ask and be turned down so… you say nothing.

The sky grows steadily darker, deep violets and magentas beginning to leak down towards the horizon like spilled paint. A crescent moon hangs in the sky already, casting a small silvery reflection onto the water. If it wasn’t for the continued movement of Ephemer’s fingers along your hair and shoulders, his silence would have made you think  _ he’d _ fallen asleep this time.

At last, the street lamps begin to flicker to life in the town below, a sure sign of the falling darkness. It’s starting to feel a bit damp and cold up in the lighthouse now, too, without the sunlight. You rub your hands along your arms briskly for warmth and curl a little closer to Ephemer, who lets out a long sigh, then sucks in a breath to begin speaking.

“So–”

“–I know,” you interrupt, dropping your chin to your chest in defeat. “We should head back.”

“Er… yeah.” The hesitance in his voice makes you wonder if he  _ hadn’t _ been about to suggest you head home like you’d expected. Frowning slightly, you sit up away from his lap and give a small shiver as a breeze slides across your skin from the ocean below. Ephemer drops one of his legs off the sill into the lighthouse so you can hop off and you walk over to wedge your fingers under the trapdoor to the stairs to lift it up. 

Glancing back, you notice Ephemer gazing at his bag with a sort of thoughtful expression as he picks it up, putting both of your leftover ice cream sticks in one of the pockets. “Coming?” you ask, gesturing down the ladder. He looks up with wide eyes as if caught by surprise before nodding and following you down to the waterfront park walkway.

The two of you cast long shadows from the streetlights as you make your way back towards the fountain square. It’s quite a bit later than you usually stay out and the streets have emptied considerably, everyone evidently at home already after a hard day’s work. Ephemer asks where you’re headed on your mission tomorrow and you tell him about the Neoshadow infestation you’ve been working on clearing out in Wonderland, and how it was lucky that the Heartless you were after shrank in size too when you had to take the shrinking potion to fit through a doorway out of the Bizarre Room.

All too soon, it seems, you’ve arrived back at the fountain, but Ephemer walks right past it, headed towards the stairs on the other side of the plaza.

“Aren’t we splitting off here?” you call after him, confused, taking a few longer strides to catch up to him again after you’d slowed down upon nearing the fountain.

Ephemer glances back at you with a smile and waits for you to catch up. “I thought I’d walk you home since it’s getting dark,” he says.

Surprised but pleased at this gesture, you smile back. “You’re sweet,” you say, climbing up the stairs. “Thanks.”

Ephemer fills the rest of the short walk back with theories about how you might fight a giant Neoshadow Heartless if you happened to be the size of a flower petal, but before you know it you’re stopping in front of your front door. You almost wish you could have walked past “accidentally” just to have a bit more time to talk.

“Well,” Ephemer says, almost a little shyly, gesturing towards the door. 

You can feel your heartbeat thumping at the base of your throat. You could invite him in… even just for a little while; he wouldn’t have to stay if he doesn’t want to… 

“Do you… I mean I know it’s getting late, but if you… do you want to come in for some t-tea?” Even you aren’t sure what you're about to offer before the words are tripping out of your mouth. 

Ephemer seems to be thumbing the flap on his bag and glances towards your door with a small smile. “I… well. I suppose I don’t often get the chance to sit down for some tea.”

A light, feathery feeling settles in your chest and you smile at him, then move to unlock the door and invite him inside, flicking on light switches as you make your way to the kitchen. You set your kettle on your stovetop and fetch two mugs and a pair of tea bags from a cupboard, setting them on the counter before joining Ephemer in the living room. He’s already lounging on your squashy loveseat, his feet dangling over one of the armrests as he tucks his gloves away into his bag before placing it on the floor beside him. You lean over the back of the loveseat, your elbows sinking into the tops of the fluffy cushions, and gently poke a finger at the red scarf he so loves to wear. 

“How long have you had this scarf for, anyway?” you ask, brushing your fingertips along the fabric.

“Mm… a long time,” he says, tugging the knot at the back of his neck undone and holding the scarf up in front of his eyes. “It just feels kind of comfortable having the consistency, you know?”

You can’t say you really relate, as you’ve been changing up your look quite frequently, everything from your clothes and accessories to your hairstyle and hair colour. But the comfort of having some sort of stable, reassuring item in your life is understandable. “I’ve seen you with it so often I might not recognize you without it,” you tease.

“I dunno,” he says with a shrug, still looking thoughtful. You get the impression there’s something on his mind, but perhaps he’s not comfortable enough to say it yet.

“How do you like your tea?” you ask by way of changing the topic, wandering back over to your stove and checking the kettle. “I have sugar and honey, or milk if you want that too.”

Ephemer’s head pokes up from behind the loveseat to watch your progress and he rests his chin on the top of the cushions. “Hmm… honey sounds good,” he says. “You always have such a well-stocked kitchen.” He sounds rather impressed.

You wave your hand to dismiss this compliment. “I’m a creature of habit. So I have loads of easy stuff that I eat all the time, but I’ve never been very inventive with cooking. I’ve been meaning to branch out – there are some good spots in the marketplace to get ingredients – but I haven’t really had the motivation to do it yet.” You reach on tiptoes to grab the honey from one of your top shelves and set it beside the mugs. By the time you turn around, your kettle is beginning to whistle and tremble slightly on the burner as the water boils, so you turn off the stovetop and pour a bit of the water into the mugs to warm them up.

Ephemer watches you with curiosity, his eyes following your hands as your dump the water out of the mugs after they've heated up and replace it with more hot water and the tea bags. You bring both mugs over to the living room along with some spoons and honey, setting them down on the coffee table to allow it to steep. 

"Smells nice," Ephemer says, eyeing the mugs eagerly. He lifts up his feet so you can sit on the loveseat too and you settle down against the other armrest, facing him. He tentatively stretches out again and you end up with both your legs sort of stacked on top of each other in the middle of the couch. It's just comfortable being near Ephemer. There seems to always be this sort of magnetic pull when you're close to him that makes you want to brush up against his side or settle down next to him. The proximity is reassuring, like now. You wonder if he feels the same way, enjoys the idle touches and relaxing cuddles the way you do. It seems safe to assume so but feels a bit funny to ask aloud. 

“It’s a nice drink after a long day,” you say, gazing idly at the steaming mugs. “I always think it’d be nice to have a bubble bath after missions too but I never seem to have the energy to run one. And besides, my bathtub is tiny.”

“I’m sure there’s somewhere we can go,” Ephemer muses, scratching at his ear. “Like a… relaxation day trip or something.”

You consider this for a moment. “I’ll keep an eye out,” you say. “Maybe we can take a day off together later.” You sit up a little and lean over to grab one of the mugs, blowing gently on the steaming liquid before taking a sip that almost burns your tongue. It’s just sweet enough for your liking. “Tea’s ready,” you say, fishing the tea bag out and setting it on the tray you’d brought the mugs over on.

Ephemer sits up as well and removes his tea bag, stirring some honey in before settling back onto the sofa cushions. He takes a small sip and immediately his cheeks flush pink as he waves a hand at his mouth, exhaling some of the hot air. “Hot!” he says, and you giggle at his theatrics. 

“Well, yeah! Careful,” you tease, blowing some of the steam off of your own tea. He shoots you his familiar puppy-dog look and you smile, shaking your head. “Just let it sit for a bit until it cools down.”

Ephemer readjusts his grip so he’s cupping the mug as if to warm his hands. “Thanks for inviting me in for the um, tea,” he says. His eyes flick briefly up to yours with a small smile before he stares back down at the contents of his mug.

“It’s… I mean…”  _ It’s because I wanted to spend as much time as possible with you before you went home. _ “It’s nothing.” Then, because this doesn’t seem sufficient, you add, “I really enjoy your company.”

Ephemer’s cheeks go a bit pink again, and this time you don’t think it’s because he almost burnt his tongue. “Me too,” he says, his voice softer and quieter than usual. He raises the mug to his mouth once more and takes a tentative sip. 

Maybe you should ask now… see if he’d… if he’d like to stay… but, well, he came over so often a couple weeks ago when your ankle was injured, even stayed the night a few times, and it’s not like you’re bed-ridden anymore.  _ And _ you have a mission tomorrow, you remind yourself. You’ll see him again afterwards at the fountain like always. 

You chance a glance up at Ephemer and notice that he seems to be deep in thought as well. He’s seemed a bit preoccupied ever since you left the lighthouse. No, before that, even – ever since you woke up from where you’d been snoozing in his lap. What  _ had _ he been saying to you after you fell asleep? He casts his gaze idly down at his bag again, on the floor next to the loveseat. 

You take a careful sip of your tea, now at a more drinkable temperature, and readjust your legs beside Ephemer’s so your toes are under one of his knees. Ephemer looks up at you over his own mug and the corner of his mouth lifts in a bemused half-smile. “Your feet are cold,” he remarks. 

You burrow your feet into the gap between two of the couch cushions, Ephemer’s legs on either side of yours. “Well, you know me,” you say airily. “I’m almost always a bit chilly.”

He glances around as though looking for something. “Do you have any blankets down here?”

You shake your head. “No, just the ones on my bed and some spare sheets upstairs. I guess we could go up to my room.” Then, realizing what you’ve suggested, you backpedal a little. “Uhh—I mean—for the blankets. To… bring down here.”

“Oh um yeah we don’t… y’know… don’t have to carry your blankets all around the house or anything, I just thought… I mean you’re kind of cold so… I wouldn’t mind moving or anything just… since you’re… cold.” To your surprise, Ephemer seems to be similarly stumbling over his words and you wonder if your suggestion threw him off. 

“So…” You try to sort out your thoughts. “You want to move… upstairs?”

“Only if you want to!” he says, raising his mug in front of his face and taking an unusually large gulp of tea, coughing a bit as it catches in his throat. 

So that’s a yes to moving upstairs? You shake your head slightly to clear it. “Okay, well um…” You slide your feet away from Ephemer and over the side of the couch to stand up, hugging your mug close to your chest. Ephemer stands up to follow, grabbing his bag off the floor before you make your way to the stairs. 

There really shouldn’t be anything awkward about this. It’s not like he’s never been in your room, or curled up on your bed with you, or… or stayed the night… It just feels like all of those times were less deliberate, more spontaneous. And you  _ want _ him to be here. A whole lot, in fact. Maybe it’s just scary thinking you might not be on the same page since you’ve never explicitly talked about it. Perhaps you  _ should _ bring it up. Better to get it out in the open. Or at the very least, ask him if he’d like to stay over rather than the two of you frittering away the night without really committing to the idea.

You set your mug down on your bedside table when you reach it and turn to face Ephemer, determined to get the words out. “Ephemer,” you begin, and he glances over at you as he goes to cross to the other side of your bed. You must have a rather serious expression on your face, because he looks at you with some apprehension. Forcing yourself to take a breath and relax a little, a nervous smile creeping up on your face at the silliness of being so worked up over this, you continue, “would you be interested in staying the night again? I know we have a mission tomorrow and all, so if you need to go home that’s alright too.” You offer up the ready-made excuse so he doesn’t have to feel bad about saying no.

Ephemer’s eyes widen, and then his eyebrows come together in worry. “Oh, don’t feel like you have to offer or anything, I know I’m here later than usual but I don’t want you to feel obligated, or… I mean I’ll be fine heading back after this, too.”

“Okay!” The nervous part of your brain spits out the words before you can think, desperate to end the awkward tension filling the space between the two of you. No, that’s not all you wanted to say though. You exhale and restart your sentence. “Actually,” you begin again, “to set the record straight, I’m not offering out of obligation, or because you’re here late – I invited you in because I really like spending time with you, and it would – I mean  _ I  _ would – er, I’d be glad to have you here for longer if you have the time and are comfortable.” It’s too hard to meet his gaze so you stare at your bedroom floor a little off to the side instead, which is why you don’t immediately notice when Ephemer takes a step towards your bed and collapses face first onto the sheets with a muffled sort of laugh.

Of all the reactions to have, this was not one you’d expected. You perch on the end of the bed and pat the back of his curls until he shifts his face so you can see one of his clear blue eyes gazing up at you. “You’re too nice of a person,” he says into the bedsheets, then turns onto his side so you can see him better. He has a happy sort of nervous smile on his face, his cheeks a bit flushed.

You lay down on your side too so you’re face to face. “What makes you say that?”

He looks down at the bed between the two of you. “I… I mean. I really like spending time with you, too. But I know you’re busy with missions and have other things to do, so I don’t want to cut into that time. So yeah, of course I  _ want _ to stay.” His eyes flick up to yours and his cheeks go even redder before he glances down at the sheets again. “If it’s not too much trouble.”

You can’t keep the embarrassed but very pleased smile off your face as you lie next to your best friend, your cheeks so warm you’re sure they’re an even darker shade than Ephemer’s. Unbidden, you start to giggle, the tension draining from your body. “I should stop second-guessing myself about these things,” you joke, mostly to yourself.

Ephemer grins back. “You really should,” he says, then he props himself up on his elbows. “Actually… you know what. I guess this is as good a time as any.”

This last part doesn’t seem particularly directed at you, and he sits up and rummages through his bag. He seems to retrieve something, and, without letting you see what it is, hides it in his closed fist. You sit up as well, watching curiously. 

“Okay, so remember that crystal I got a while back from the Bulky Vendor?” he asks, and you nod, tilting your head curiously. “Well,” he continues, “I found a Moogle in the marketplace who was able to help me make it into these.” He opens his hand for you to see. In his palm are two tiny star-shaped crystals with a small braided cord attached. “I heard the star shape is supposed to be a good luck charm,” he explains, handing one to you. It fits neatly inside the palm of your hand. “It represents an unbreakable connection.”

You stare down at the charm in your hand, then back at Ephemer, a bit lost for words.

“They’re not very big since I only had the one crystal to work with,” he blurts out, like he feels the need to fill up the silence. “So, um, what do you think?”

You wrap your fingers around the star and hold it close to your chest. “I think it’s wonderful, Ephemer,” you say, feeling almost a little choked up. “Thank you so much.”

His grin is as wide as the horizon. You open your arms to pull him into a hug, hiding your face in his hair. All your fears about being too clingy seem to melt away, and you wonder why you’d been worried at all in the first place. This is your best friend you’re talking about.

There’s an earnest smile on Ephemer’s face as he watches you untie the ends of the braided cord on the charm to slip it around your neck. “Can you tie it?” you ask him, twisting and holding your hair out of the way so he can attach it. His fingers are warm against your skin as he knots the cord once more. The charm falls just below your collarbone and you fiddle with the rounded edges of the star shape, the crystal cool to the touch. You glance over at Ephemer and see him untying the ends of his own cord before he offers it to you.

“Me too?” he asks, turning away as you had. You loop the cord around his neck and tie a knot to secure it. He gives a little shiver as your fingers brush the sensitive skin at the back of his neck and you smirk, recalling how ticklish he can be. You tug at the knot for good measure before letting it settle back around the base of his throat.

Like you, Ephemer fingers the crystal, testing out its new weight on his chest. You catch his eye and smile. “They’re really lovely,” you say, cupping the crystal in your palm to look at it. “Just the colour of sea-salt ice cream.”

“I thought of making them into the shape of ice cream bars, actually,” he says, bringing the star up in front of him to examine. “But then I thought, I don’t want our friendship to just be about getting ice cream. I like that part too, but I like spending time with you most. So I wanted something that could be a reminder of that connection, even when we’re apart.”

Your face feels like it’s going to melt from how warm it is, your cheeks aching from smiling so much. You’re probably gazing at him with this silly sort of fond expression but can’t stop it from showing on your face, can’t help but think how wonderful your best friend is and how lucky you are to have him in your life.

Ephemer seems to notice your expression because he gives a soft little chuckle and shakes his head. “It’s really dorky, isn’t it,” he says, a sheepish smile dimpling his cheeks.

You let the charm fall back onto your chest, shaking your head vehemently at him. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed my expression,” you tease, bringing one of your (cooler) hands to your cheeks to try to siphon off some of the lingering heat, “but I am all about dorky friendship things. You’re going to make my cheeks fall off from smiling too much at this rate.”

Ephemer laughs and brings a hand to his own face, squashing his fingers into his cheek as if to relieve similar tension from a long time spent smiling. 

You shake your head again, partly to clear it, and partly at how silly the two of you are, just sitting here blushing, then stand up again and retrieve your mug from the bedside table. The tea is rather lukewarm now and you drain the rest of it in a few gulps before replacing it on the table. Ephemer looks over at the windowsill where he left his mug and picks it up to take another sip, sitting up on one side of the bed. 

“So… are you alright with staying tonight?” you ask hopefully, pulling back some of the covers to crawl underneath. 

“You don’t mind?” he says, looking over the top of his mug at you as he finishes the last of his tea. 

You chuckle, rolling your eyes with a smile. “I’d probably have you over every day if my schedule allowed it. Rest assured that if I'm inviting you in for tea that I'd be glad to have you here as long as you like."

"Maybe I should be leaving a pair of pajamas here then," Ephemer jokes as he crawls under the covers next to you, but you purse your lips in thought. 

"Actually that's not a bad idea. I mean! Not to be too forward or anything. But if you wanted to stay over more often then it would be convenient to have some stuff here." You glance over at him, gathering a handful of blanket to squeeze. "If that interests you, of course."

Ephemer traces along a wrinkle on the top of your comforter. "That could be nice," he says quietly. He glances over at you with a small, perhaps hopeful-looking smile. "Hey um, are you still cold?" 

This, along with the way he's got his arm up by his head, ostensibly holding onto the pillow but also opening up his side for you to draw nearer, seems as much an invitation as any. You return the smile. "Maybe a little cold still, yeah." You roll onto your side, shuffling closer so the front of your body is pressed up against his side, and the arm he was holding the pillow with settles around your back, pulling you close and allowing you to rest your head on his chest. One of your arms winds up sandwiched between your bodies, wrapped around your side a bit as though you're hugging yourself, and you bring the other up carefully to rest across Ephemer's chest. Your legs are just stretched out beside each other which feels a little uncomfortable, and you twist your hips trying to find a better position before deciding to ignore your trepidation and bring one leg up to rest over top of Ephemer's, forming a sort of criss-cross. He makes a kind of hum of acknowledgement of this and rubs his thumb against your side. 

If only you could do this every night, you think to yourself, squeezing Ephemer just a little bit closer with a contented sigh. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, the absolute most tooth-rottingly sweet chapter I have on offer, it's nearly 5k of almost criminally sweet fluff :P I'd _love_ to hear your thoughts — leave a comment, or hit me up on my Tumblr at [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com/)!


	13. Apprehension

You look at the neat pile of twigs and driftwood the two of you have arranged in a small pit on the beach shore. To be quite honest, you’re not entirely sure how to light a fire; it had never really come up before. You crouch down next to the pile of wood and dried seaweed and rub some of the gathered sticks together hopefully. Isn’t it supposed to create a spark if you rub hard enough?

Ephemer returns with another large driftwood branch, which he sets carefully over your constructed twig cabin. “Having trouble, peach?” he asks, and the familiar nickname makes you smile a bit.

You look down at the sticks. All you’ve managed to do is scrape off some of the already peeling bark and make your hands dirty. “Well... I’m not really sure how to start a fire,” you admit.

Out of the corner of your eye you see a flash of light and glance over to see that Ephemer has summoned his keyblade. He twirls it in his hand once and holds it up to the fire. “Do you think–” he begins, but you push the teeth of the keyblade away.

“Ohh no, I don’t want an explosion,” you protest, shielding the fire pit from his weapon. He shoots you a dejected look and you continue, “Come on Ephemer, you  _ know _ how big fire spells are.”

“I can be careful!” he argues, and gestures to the sticks you’re holding. “We don’t seem to be getting anywhere with the twigs.”

You frown at the twigs as well. He has a point but… what if it gets out of hand? You wiggle the bit of wood between your fingers as you think. Maybe if you stand by with a water spell… make sure it’s contained…

Your shoulders slump and you drop the useless twigs onto the bonfire pile. “Yeah, okay. Wait, not yet!” you hurry to say as he raises his keyblade once more. You jump to your feet and back a few paces away, the sand still warm against your feet from the late afternoon sunlight, then summon your own keyblade. “I’ll stand here and use a water spell if anything goes wrong. You should probably back up a bit, too.”

Ephemer nods with a grin and jogs backwards a couple steps before carefully aiming his keyblade at the bonfire. “Fire!” he calls, and a ball of flames shoots towards the fire pit, sending your carefully arranged twigs flying like streaks of fiery confetti. You cry out in alarm but Ephemer lets out a whoop of delight – the biggest log that was situated at the bottom of your pile is now ablaze as though it had been burning for hours, the flames several feet high, stretching towards the pink-streaked sky. The sand around the pit is singed and dark from the impact, and seems to smoke a bit.

Shaking your head at Ephemer but smiling despite yourself, you cast a quick water spell at some of the larger chunks of wood that haven’t sizzled out upon contact with the ground. Ephemer jogs off towards a particularly large piece of driftwood located a short distance away up the shoreline, his bare feet kicking up sand as he goes. You approach the fire pit carefully and, after discovering that the singed sand is cool enough to touch, manage to mix some of the burnt grains with the regular ones to cover the scorch marks.

Ephemer returns with a huge grin and deposits his quarry into the pit beside the blazing log. “Wasn’t so bad, huh?” he says, with a joking shove at your shoulder. 

You roll your eyes but return the smile. “Probably shouldn’t make it a habit, though. Did you see the way the twigs were just blasted up into the air?”

Ephemer scratches at the back of his neck. “I guess it  _ is _ mostly intended for use against Heartless, huh…” he muses. 

You laugh at his serious tone, pulling his bag towards you off his hip to search through it. “Here, help me lay this out,” you say, handing a large square of fabric to him. He begins unfolding it and you let the bag fall back against his side before grabbing the other end, walking backwards a few paces until the blanket is fully spread out on the sand next to the fire pit. Ephemer flops backwards onto the blanket as though he’s about to make a snow angel. You kneel down onto the blanket as well, trying not to track too much sand onto it as you crawl over to lay next to him. The grains of sand stick to your feet and shins in irregular patches from kicking at it to cover the scorch marks. 

“Just in time for the sunset,” Ephemer says happily, reaching an arm across the blanket towards you as he gazes at the horizon. 

Not wanting to mess the blanket up, you do a sort of barrel roll towards him, which ends with you face smooshed into the side of his shirt. “Whoops,” you say, straightening out so you’re also lying on your back beside him. He moves his arm up to cushion his head, but almost immediately seems to change his mind and pats your hair lightly to get you to lift your head up before settling his arm under your neck like a pillow. “I’ll make your arm fall asleep,” you joke as you settle closer to him.

“Then we’ll just have to switch places,” he replies with a smile. You consider this for a moment and, deciding that sounds fine to you, nestle your head closer to lean against his chest.

At this height, the water seems to form a swirling line along the horizon, great waves sweeping up towards the shore with a comforting rhythm. You have to tuck your head in against Ephemer's chest to look at it, even though the ground slopes gently down towards the water. The sun is just barely hovering above the waves, and tonight the sky is ablaze with deep reds and vibrant magentas. The ever-growing darkness brings with it a bit of dampness only held at bay by the fire burning merrily beside the two of you. You stretch your hand out behind you to grab the edge of the blanket and pull it up to your chest, bringing with it a shower of sand that settles onto your clothes. 

"Bleh," you sputter, brushing some of it off your chest. "I like sand but it sure gets everywhere." 

Ephemer chuckles and tries to help you, but the sand just sticks to your hands and arms or continues to fall onto your clothes instead of off the blanket. "Are you cold?" he asks, turning his head to look down at you now that you've got the blanket mostly wrapped around your shoulders.

You shrug. “This is good with the blanket.”

You feel Ephemer’s body shift slightly and he grabs the other end of the blanket, then attempts to shake the sand off it before tucking it around you as well so the two of you are wrapped up like a cocoon. This is much nicer. The fire warms your back and Ephemer warms your other side. You adjust your position slightly so you can reach an arm over his stomach and hug him to you, and he responds with a happy sort of murmur. 

The last trickle of sunlight descends into the ocean, leaving only the bloodred sky behind. A wind brushes past the two of you, bringing more waves crashing up to the shore with a tang of saltiness. It’s rather different watching the sunset from this level, so close to the sea. Though your feet are pointed downwards somewhat due to the sloping shore, the water is little more than a thick, churning line at this angle. The waves curl and fold into themselves, washing up against the sand below with gentle shushing sounds. They're much louder here on the shore than up in the lighthouse. 

“You know, Ephemer,” you begin, readjusting your cheek on his chest so you can look up at him slightly, “I never asked you why you picked Union Unicornis.”

“Oh,” he says, sounding a bit surprised. “I… think it was kind of arbitrary, really. I didn’t know much about any of the Unions when I joined. Did you?”

You shake your head slightly. “I guess it’s a silly question – I didn’t have any reason to pick Union Anguis, either. It’s not like I have a particular affinity for snakes or something.” Ephemer chuckles at this. You continue, “And, I think all the Unions ought to be working towards the same goal, so it didn’t seem like my choice would really matter much.”

“Yeah. There seems to be some tension lately, though. Particularly between Unicornis and Ursus.”

“Really?” you ask, pulling away slightly to get a better look at his face. “I didn’t know.”

Ephemer is frowning. “Well, you’re not in either Union, so it probably doesn’t affect you much. But some of the people I see out on missions from Union Ursus get really shifty when they find out I’m in Unicornis.”

“Do you think something happened between the Foretellers? Between Master Ira and Master Aced?”

Ephemer shrugs. “I can’t really say. But it seems to always be the really serious Lux-gatherers who are the most up in arms. Maybe if you’re high in the rankings you get more information about the Foretellers.”

That’s an interesting thought; you’ve never been particularly high-ranking. “Well, I can’t imagine I’ll ever be able to gather enough Lux to make it high in the rankings,” you say, with a slight hint of regret. “The top scorers somehow get billions and trillions of Lux every week, and I’m lucky to get a hundredth of that.”

Ephemer looks down a bit curiously at your words, maybe taken aback by the bitterness in your voice that you hadn’t intended to let slip out. “Would you ever want to join a higher-ranking party?” he asks.

“No!” you say quickly. Then, realizing you sound guilty, you qualify, “I mean, sometimes I’m jealous of the extra perks and stuff they get from the high rankings. Someone that used to be in my party went off and joined one of the parties that nearly always make it into the top ten each week, and they always seem to have the best keyblade upgrades and outfits when I see them around.” You shake your head. “But I can’t imagine spending that much time on gathering Lux. I think there are more important things to be doing with your time.”

The words seem to settle heavily on the two of you as you snuggle next to each other in the blanket, your own Union missions feeling far away, and your cheeks grow unexpectedly warm. Well, he should know you like spending time with him, anyway, shouldn’t he? Ephemer seems to have noticed your sudden tension and squeezes you gently. “I agree,” he says softly, unspoken understanding passing between the two of you.

The two of you lie in silence for a few moments, listening to the whispering waves and the crackle of burning driftwood next to you. You consider briefly what it might have been like if you and Ephemer had been in the same Union--would you have met each other sooner? Been in the same party? Competed against each other for better Union rankings? Or maybe you would have only seen each other in passing while you were out on missions, never really getting to know each other. It’s odd now trying to imagine a world without Ephemer. It’s been almost a year since you first met him, a year of sunsets and late nights and ice cream and laughter. And, occasionally, of investigating, though it’s been weeks since you last did any real looking around. At times the strife between the Unions, and the business with the Book of Prophecies, and the dream you’d had about the Foretellers at the clock tower feel so far away, so distant, that it doesn’t seem like they matter at all so long as you have your best friend with you. 

“You talk to Master Ava sometimes, don’t you?” you ask Ephemer, breaking the silence. “Do you ever talk to your own Union leader?”

“Master Ira?” Ephemer asks, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “No, I don’t. I don’t even see him around really, except when he comes to overview the weekly Lux rankings. He always seems so… formidable.”

“I suppose Master Ava does seem like the most approachable Foreteller,” you say, mostly to yourself. Sometimes you see her out by the fountain as you pass by on your way to your mission, but always at a bit of a distance. You’ve never stopped to talk to her, yourself. It doesn’t really feel like something you’ve earned the right to be able to do – after all, you’re not in her Union, nor do you rank high enough to be a notable wielder.

“She’s really nice!” Ephemer says. “I’ve only talked to her a few times since she’s usually really busy, but she cares a lot about all the wielders, and not just the ones from her own Union.”

“That’s nice to hear,” you say. You’re not sure if you could say the same about Master Invi, leader of your own Union Anguis. She, like Master Ira, seems a bit intimidating. It’s hard to tell what any of the foretellers are thinking, what with the masks always covering their eyes, but Master Invi in particular always keeps her robes covering the bottom half of her face too, concealing almost all facial expression. You’ve never been able to tell if she’s satisfied or not with your Union’s work during the weekly Lux rankings.

“Yeah,” Ephemer agrees. “I wish the Foretellers were more transparent about what’s going on with the Unions, though. Most of them aren’t as approachable as Master Ava, and she doesn’t tell me anything about what’s going on with the rest of the Union leaders.”

“They seem pretty determined to keep the details to themselves,” you reply, adjusting your head so you have a better view of the horizon. The streak of crimson sky that was so low against the waves is slowly fading to a purplish pink, but the sky directly overhead is quickly darkening to a deep indigo colour. Giant, swirling clouds hang above the two of you, their undersides an almost threateningly flat grey. You wonder faintly if it might rain later this evening.

A particularly strong breeze ruffles your hair and you snuggle closer to Ephemer, who tucks the blanket more firmly around you. “We’ll figure out what’s going on,” he says, sounding like he means to reassure you. 

Is it foolish to want to cling to the normalcy of your everyday missions, to wish for a while that things could just always stay like this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually went back and rewrote parts of this chapter after going to the beach; it's easy to forget how much of a nuisance sand can be!  
> Find me on Tumblr, too! [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com)


	14. Eternal Moments

きれいな青空の下で 

僕らは少しだけ怯えていた

_ Underneath the beautiful blue sky _

_ We were a little afraid _

“You’ve checked the marketplace, right?” Ephemer asks, taking a bite of his ice cream. His hair blows gently in the evening breeze up on the lighthouse.

“Yeah. I even asked some of the Moogles running shops there if they knew anything about the clock tower, but no one could tell me anything.” The salty-sweet flavour lingers on your tongue as you stare out at the sunset. It's surprisingly blue today, orange only touching the very edge of the water. The moon, nearly full, hangs in the sky already though the sun hasn't yet slipped beneath the waves. 

“I’ve looked all over the base of the tower itself. I even considered scaling the walls, but I’d need some kind of climbing equipment, and there’s no way they wouldn’t notice even if we tried to climb in at night," Ephemer continues. 

“Do you think there’s a switch somewhere that opens a secret passage? You know, like the Foretellers press some part of the wall and a door suddenly appears. Or maybe you need to unlock something with your keyblade.” You're reaching a bit, perhaps, but there's got to be  _ some  _ way inside the clock tower. 

“If that’s the case, we might never find a way in unless we find someone that knows about it already.” Ephemer kicks his heels against the lighthouse wall and takes another bite of his ice cream.

“Don’t you talk to Master Ava sometimes? Would she ever tell you anything?”

He scratches the back of his neck. “I’ve tried to get her to talk a few times, but nothing ever comes of it,” he admits. “Not about the clock tower, or the Unions, or the Book of Prophecies. She’s very secretive.”

“I can’t believe we’ve been investigating this for a whole year and haven’t come up with anything.” To be fair, instead of investigating every day after your missions, you’d eventually dropped it to “every other day” and then “once a week” and for some time now “when we feel like there’s something new worth looking into”.

“Well, I can only expect it’s because they don’t want anyone to find out whatever secret it is that they’re hiding.” He pulls one leg up onto the ledge and rests his elbow on his knee before taking another bite of his ice cream. “I just hope it isn’t anything bad.”

The two of you stare idly at the horizon, listening to the sound of the waves while you eat your ice cream.

“Oh,” you say after a long silence. “I just remembered.”

“Hmm?”

“I was talking to the Moogle that runs the shop by the fountain earlier, and he said they’re draining some of the waterways around that area for maintenance starting tomorrow. He warned me that there are usually powerful Heartless in the sewers, so I should be careful.”

“That sounds like something we could check out,” Ephemer says, tapping his leftover ice cream stick against his knee. “Good call.”

You nod and take another bite of your ice cream, finishing it up. Then you pull both your feet up to the windowsill and lean back against the frame, stretching out your legs so they’re next to Ephemer. Seemingly without thinking, he rests his hand just above your ankle, as if to reassure himself that you’re there. The warmth is comforting.

“Ephemer? What do you think will happen if we actually do get into the clock tower?” You raise your free hand briefly to the star-shaped crystal resting at your throat, something to hold onto. 

He squeezes your ankle gently without taking his eyes off the sunset. “I... I’m not sure, exactly. I’m hoping to find something that will explain why all the Unions are competing against each other for Lux. And I want to know what the Book of Prophecies is all about.”

You look down, twirling your ice cream stick over and over in your hands. “What if it’s something we were never meant to find out?”

This time he does look over at you, but you continue to focus on your hands. He rubs his thumb against your ankle. “Hey. You don’t have to come if you’re worried.”

“No, that’s not it,” you say. “Of course I want to come with you.”

Ephemer turns so he’s facing you and swings his feet up on the windowsill as well, motioning for you to lift your legs up so he can stretch out and you can rest your legs on top of his. You kick off your shoes into the lighthouse and rest your feet in his lap. He puts a warm hand back on your ankle and looks up at you. “But something  _ is _ worrying you. What’s up?”

You tap one end of the leftover ice cream stick against the side of your other hand, unable to meet his searching gaze. “I’m worried... that if we find out something big, everything will change.” He’s quiet, so you continue. There's a small lump in your throat that makes it difficult to speak normally. “Like if we get caught, and they don’t let us see each other again because we’re in different Unions. Or if we find something out, and things can never go back to the way they were.”

You chance a glance over at Ephemer and see him biting his lip, staring down at his hands and nodding to himself. “I understand,” he says quietly. “But... if there  _ is _ something important that they’re hiding from us, I think I’d rather know about it so I can make my own decisions on how to live my life. Even if that means I can’t go back to the way things used to be.”

He’s right, of course. It’s probably selfish of you to wish for things to stay the same. And naïve to pretend that there truly is nothing wrong with this system of Unions and Lux gathering. If there  _ is _ something to be found out, then you’re better off knowing it. Right?

Still, there’s this heavy feeling somewhere in the middle of your chest.

“You’re right,” is what you say out loud. “We don’t even know if we’ll find anything tomorrow, anyway. We’ll meet up at the fountain like usual, right?” You feel Ephemer’s eyes searching your face but continue to avoid his gaze.

“Yeah, of course.”

There’s a long stretch of silence when neither of you seem to know what to say. A wave crashes up against the base of the lighthouse as the sun sinks ever lower on the horizon.

Ephemer squeezes your ankle to get your attention. “You know,” he says, looking over at you, “you really are my best friend.”

You glance up to see him smiling, which brings a small grin to your face as well. “You’re my best friend, too, Ephemer. That’ll always be the same no matter what.”

“Forever?” he asks.

“Forever,” you agree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot returns! These kids are in for a wild ride. Hope you enjoy!   
> Come chat on my Tumblr if you're so inclined~ [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com)


	15. What Lies Beneath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very small content warning for mention of blood.

_ There is always sleep between part and meet, _

_ With our usual words on the usual street. _

“I have to say, the town doesn’t look as pretty without the waterways,” you say, surveying the now-barren water channels. Now that they’re drained, the leftover puddles are an unpleasant greyish-brown colour, and you can see mould between some of the stones.

“Yeah, I agree,” says Ephemer. “It’s kind of quieter, too, don’t you think?”

You nod and continue walking up the stairs that lead away from the fountain plaza. Ephemer looks over the side of the railing and points down to one of the empty waterways.

“There. That looks like a manhole, doesn’t it? It probably leads to the sewers.” He dashes ahead of you and makes his way down to the manhole, pulling at the rusty cover to lift it off. By the time you catch up, you can see that there’s a tiny utility ladder in the hole. Ephemer has one foot on the top rung. “You ready?”

You wrinkle your nose at the thought of going down into a sewer, but nod. No way you’re letting your friend go down there alone. “Be careful,” you say, as he continues to lower himself down the ladder.

“Don’t worry!” he says, his voice echoing in the enclosed space. You watch him descend until you can’t make out his figure in the darkness any longer and the sound of his gloves on the metal ladder fades away. A clang echoes from somewhere deep down the hole and you hear Ephemer call up, “I’m okay! You can come down!”

Well, it’s a good thing you decided to wear gloves today. Some of the ladder rungs are a bit slimy and your feet slide around precariously as you climb down. It gets darker and darker until you’re mostly going by feel to find the next rung, when you hear the distinct  _ swoosh _ of a keyblade being summoned and Ephemer calls out “ _ Fire _ ”. Some distance below you, at the top of what seems to be a staircase, stands Ephemer with a newly-lit lantern flickering beside him. He walks over to the ladder and cups his hands over his mouth to call out to you. “You’re almost there!”

“Yup, just uh, taking my time!” you say, feeling for the next rung with your foot. Your arms are getting tired from holding onto the ladder so tightly. You don’t realize how close you’ve gotten to the ground until you feel a hand on your back and turn to see Ephemer standing behind you, smiling encouragingly.

“You made it!” he says happily as you hop off the ladder and brush off your clothes.

“You, me, and some of the slime I collected off the ladder rungs,” you joke, shaking some of the feeling back into your arms. “Where to now?”

Ephemer gestures to your left with his keyblade, where you can see some stairs leading farther down into the sewers. “You should probably get your keyblade out; I heard some noises earlier.”

You nod and summon your Starlight keyblade to your side. Its weight in your hand is comforting as the two of you cautiously descend the stairs. Ephemer lights another lantern at the bottom, where the path branches in two directions. “Should we split up?” you ask, glancing around.

Ephemer nods in agreement. “We’ll cover more ground that way. Yell if you’re in trouble, okay? And be careful of the Heartless.”

Ephemer takes the path on the right, and you take the one on the left. You turn to look back at him before you set off and he gives you the thumbs-up, trying to reassure you. “Good luck!” you call.

Though you can hear the gurgling sounds of water on either side of the path, thankfully the floor here is mostly dry. A few Hook Bats dislodge themselves from the ceiling and come to pester you, but some quick thinking and a few good fire spells take care of them in no time. The trickier ones are the Search Ghosts – they seem harmless until you step into their searchlight, but then quickly become a nuisance as they warp out of reach and use attacks that heal themselves when they hit you.

You finally catch a particularly pesky Search Ghost coming out of a warp and slice your keyblade cleanly through it, causing it to disappear in a cloud of purple. It’s been a while since you split up from Ephemer; maybe you should go back to meet up again and see if he’s fou—

“Aaaghh!” A ring of purple-black fire comes out of seemingly nowhere and closes in on you, knocking you off your feet and causing you to gasp for breath, splayed against the damp floor. The hand holding your keyblade stings from where you crushed your fingers between the hilt and the stone when you fell. Ignoring the pain, you scramble to your feet and turn to see a huge Heartless swing around and point its sword at you, preparing to attack once more.

Shit, shit, shit, it’s an Invisible. These Heartless are no pushovers. “Ephemer!” you yell, hoping he’s not so far away that he can’t hear you. The Invisible crouches down and comes charging towards you, sword first. You roll out of the way, scraping your hand on a jagged part of the stone floor. It stings, but you barely register it, preparing instead for the next attack. The Invisible charges towards you once again, swinging its sword in a wide diagonal arc. You hold out your keyblade as a shield in front of you to deflect the blow, then jump to bring it down on the Invisible’s shoulder, hacking and slashing until it recovers and disappears, warping behind you. This time you don’t get your keyblade in front of you fast enough to defend yourself, and its sword slices into your shoulder and sends you crashing into the railing separating the walkway from the water.

This is not looking good—you need to get out and regroup,  _ now _ . Mustering up as much strength as you can, you raise your keyblade into the air and yell “STOP!”

The Invisible freezes under the effects of your spell, but it won’t last forever. You need to get away so you can heal. Stumbling to your feet once more, you turn when you hear the sound of footsteps thudding against the stone floor.

Ephemer comes racing out of the darkness, keyblade in hand. “Light!” he shouts, charging up some kind of spell just as your time-freezing magic wears off and the Invisible begins to move again. It draws its sword back, preparing to strike, when Ephemer jumps up into the air and a burst of light rains forth from his keyblade, sending dozens of tiny arcs like shooting stars at the Heartless. At the end of the barrage, all that’s left is a cloud of purple and a smattering of Lux.

You drop to your knees, one hand clutching your shoulder and the other on the floor as you struggle to catch your breath. Though you hadn't meant to dismiss it, your keyblade vanishes in a flash of light beside you. Ephemer rushes over to you, absolute panic written all over his face. “Are you okay? What’s wrong? Did you get hit?”

“It’s fine, just give me a—”

Ephemer doesn’t let you finish, raising his keyblade into the air with a quick “ _ heal _ ” before he tosses it aside and gently moves your hand from your shoulder to check your injury.

“Thank goodness,” he says when he sees that his spell has helped the wound close. There’s still blood on your hands and clothes, but you’ll be fine now. Ephemer lets out a huge breath of air and drops to his knees beside you, a strange sort of laughter bubbling from his lips. “It felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest when I saw you like that, it was beating so hard.” He sits back against the railing and blinks his eyes a few times. “I think I need to catch my breath too. You’re okay now, right, peach? Everything’s okay.”

You sit back against the railing as well and inspect your hands. Your gloves are ripped and filthy from the fight, but otherwise you seem to be fine. You roll your shoulders and stretch your arms. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you.” Looking over at Ephemer, you notice that he, too, has a few scratches from his battles with the Heartless. “Are  _ you _ okay?”

“What, me? Of course.” He pulls up his glove cuff to cover a shallow cut by his wrist. “I didn’t have anything worse than a Possessor on my path. It wound up leading to a dead end, anyway, so I was coming back to see if you’d found anything when I heard you yell.”

“I’m... I’m glad you came,” you murmur quietly.

“Guess that makes us even, huh?” Ephemer jokes, standing and offering you a hand up.

“Only took you a year to pay me back,” you quip in reply, picking up Ephemer’s keyblade off the floor and handing it to him before resummoning your own.

Suddenly you hear a rumbling sound from somewhere farther down the path and the floor shakes, almost throwing you off-balance. You and Ephemer share a look and jog towards the sound, where you come across a huge clock gear. You approach the gear when suddenly Ephemer speaks up.

“Wait.”

You turn around and throw him an inquisitive look.

“I think we should come back later,” he continues. 

“What? Why?” you ask, dismissing your keyblade.

Ephemer gestures to the path behind you. “It’s taken us this long just to find a way in. Think of how much longer it’ll take for us to enter the tower and find the room. It’s gonna look suspicious to our Union leaders if we’re gone for too long. Plus, you got hurt earlier. You need to rest up.”

“So... what? We come back tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Let’s meet at the usual place at noon.”

You sigh. Ephemer does have a point. “All right. But let’s stick together the next time we come back here, okay? I’d rather not have a repeat of that Invisible fight.”

You can’t quite place it, but there’s something a bit different about Ephemer’s smile when he grins at you. “Deal.”

* * *

“So, how was your day?” Chirithy sits on your windowsill, as usual.

You yawn and rub at your shoulder, the one you’d injured earlier in the day. It had been really nice getting out of your dirty clothes and taking a long shower when you got back to your room, and already you’re feeling much more refreshed. “Well, it was definitely an adventure,” you answer.

“What did you do?”

“I went out exploring with Ephemer. We ran into some tough Heartless, but together we got through it.”

“I’m glad you two get along so well!”

“Yeah, me too,” you say idly, sitting on the end of your bed across from Chirithy. “Hey, Chirithy? Can I ask you something?” Chirithy nods, so you continue. “What’s the point of having Unions?”

Chirithy turns to look out the window for a moment, then back at you. “Isn’t it so everyone works harder to collect Lux?”

You sigh, gripping the edge of the mattress and leaning forward to rest your weight on your hands, then sit back, bouncing on the mattress. “Yeah, I know. But sometimes I see people in different Unions fighting over Lux, and that just doesn’t feel like how it’s supposed to be.”

“Well, I’m sure the Foretellers know what they’re doing! They’re the ones in charge, after all.”

“Sure,” you say, without really believing your own words. “Anyway, I’m going to get some sleep. Ephemer and I are meeting up early tomorrow to go exploring again.”

“Sweet dreams!” Chirithy says, disappearing into their usual magical cloud.

* * *

The moonlight shines on Ephemer’s face, reflecting in his eyes as he stares up at the ceiling of his room. His Starlight keyblade is summoned on his lap on top of the covers and he runs his hand absentmindedly over it, tracing the grooves and dips, the scratches and imperfections from fighting the Heartless. It had been a close call today. Ephemer shudders to think what might have happened if he hadn’t made it over to you in time. He felt like his heart was going to stop when he saw you there, blood on your shoulder, facing off solo against an Invisible. He can’t put you in that position again.

Worry and anxiety made him stop you from going on further into the clock tower. Who knows what other kinds of things you might come across inside? He knows you would put on a brave face – nothing would stop you from accompanying him if you knew he was going to forge ahead – but what kind of friend would he be if he put you in that position? This doesn't even directly concern you – you’d simply allowed Ephemer to drag you along on all his investigations, allowed him to pull you deeper into the mysteries surrounding Daybreak Town and the foretellers. He’d never forgive himself if you got hurt because of something he got you involved in.

But what’s the alternative, anyway? The two of you have agreed to meet up tomorrow and continue investigating. Ephemer had been hoping the extra time would let him think of a way to convince you to stay back, to not put yourself at risk, but everything he thinks of seems like a feeble excuse, like he’s saying he doesn’t trust you enough. And that’s the thing – it’s not a case of him not trusting you, it’s a case of you yourself being so trustworthy that he knows you’d follow him right into danger without a second thought. He can’t have you getting hurt, too. Not after what almost happened today.

Ephemer realizes he’s been running his fingers over the star-shaped crystal at his throat without thinking. It… keeps the memory of you close, in a way. A reminder of your friendship. With a sigh he dismisses the keyblade on his lap and rolls over to stare out the window. Is this the right thing to do? Is he just putting his friends in danger? He’d left his party, too, last month, feeling like his own desires were in conflict with the party goals. Maybe it was wrong to leave his party leader like that, but she has the rest of the party now too. And she's strong. And Ephemer is… selfish. Running from his problems instead of letting other people help. 

This is frustrating. Is it selfish, too, to not want you to get hurt accompanying him to the clock tower? Or is it selfless to want to protect you from harm, even if it means going back on his word and upsetting you?

He could go to the clock tower now, he thinks. Get his answers. It might be better to go at night – fewer people around. If it really is nothing, if it really is a dead end and there isn’t anything more to learn about the foretellers or the Book of Prophecies or the Unions or Lux, then he can simply go back to his regular routine and look for answers elsewhere. But if there is something to learn, then he won’t be risking your safety by taking you with him. And he’ll share what he learned when he gets back – if he gets back. And if he doesn’t, then you can still go on innocently, making new friends, making new memories.

The thought seems to get stuck in his throat somewhere. But that’s the best option, isn’t it? Ephemer can take responsibility, and no one but him will get hurt. 

Despite the lateness of the hour, he rises from his bed with surprising briskness, his mind made up. He gets dressed and tucks the blue crystal charm beneath his shirt before slipping out the door to head back to the underground waterways.

_ I’m sorry, peach… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, the plot has caught up with us at last. I had a bit of fun finally writing some combat again. I wanted the fights to feel heavier and more like "each move counts" than the fantasy fighting we get in the games, since while I quite like wailing on the Heartless in-game it is admittedly not too realistic in a written format to have the keykids never tire or get injured. As before, Cure and its related family of spells are more for closing superficial injuries than it is for mending bones or soothing sore muscles, so the keykids still need to be cautious and keep up with training to be in top condition.
> 
> Want to know some behind-the-scenes details or simply more about how I write the characters and how they act? Hit me up on Tumblr at [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com) :)


	16. Scent of Silence

_ So let us part like we always do... _

_ And in a world without you, I'll dream of you. _

You arrive a little early to the fountain, before the sun has reached its peak overhead. Your muscles are a bit sore from yesterday, but you’re otherwise feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the Heartless down in the sewers again. A little impatient, you kick your heels against the fountain wall, drumming your fingers across your thigh.

Some time later, the sun shining warmly overhead, Ephemer still hasn’t shown up. What a lazy bum, you think. He’s probably just slept in; after all, there was no mission today. You grip the other side of the fountain wall behind you and lean back, watching the other keyblade wielders pass through the plaza. One girl catches you staring at her and gives you a curious look, and you try to hide your embarrassment by smiling at her and looking away.

Your stomach starts to rumble, so you stop by the Moogle shop just beside the fountain and pick up two ice cream bars – the other for Ephemer when he finally comes. After a few more minutes of waiting, you tear the packaging off your own ice cream bar and take a bite.

The clock on the wall of one of the shops shows an hour past noon and you tap your leftover ice cream stick against the palm of your hand. Ephemer may be late sometimes, but he’s never been  _ this  _ late. You’re beginning to wonder if you misunderstood the time you were meeting up.  _ Let’s meet at the usual place at noon _ is what you’re pretty sure he said. ‘The usual place’ is sure to be the fountain; it’s where you always meet up before you go to the lighthouse or go out exploring. Unless he’s actually waiting at the lighthouse...? No, that wouldn’t make sense. It’s a lot farther away from the sewers you were going to continue investigating, too.

Then... maybe Ephemer got the time wrong? You usually meet up later in the day after all, after your missions. You turn around so you’re sitting cross-legged facing the fountain and drag the end of your ice cream stick through the water. The ice cream you’d brought for Ephemer still sits in its package, more liquid than ice cream at this point. Maybe Ephemer will come by later in the day, not realizing that you’d agreed to meet up earlier.

More time passes. You start to feel a bit paranoid, sitting out here on your own. You’re sure you’ve seen some of the same people pass through the plaza and give you inquisitive glances upon seeing that you’re still here. Ephemer will come though, you tell yourself. He’s never broken a promise to you yet.

You get up to throw the melted ice cream package in the trash.

*

The street lamps around Daybreak Town start to light up. You don’t look at the clock across the street, but you know it’s late, even later than when you meet up to head to the lighthouse. The sun has set, too. You move to sit under one of the street lights, feeling too damp sitting over by the fountain.

“Have you been here all day?” A familiar voice causes you to glance up, but it’s not who you were hoping for. Your Chirithy hops down the stairs leading away from the fountain and stands a few feet away, concern on their face.

Your cheeks feel strangely hot seeing that your Chirithy has come across you here, even though it isn’t your fault that Ephemer hasn’t shown up. There’s a weird lump in your throat that makes it hard to swallow.

“Come on, let’s head home,” says Chirithy. They tilt their head to look at you, but it feels like if you meet Chirithy’s gaze you’ll start to cry, so you stare at the ground instead. “Look,” Chirithy says, taking a few steps towards you. “I’m sure something important came up. A friend always keeps their promise. Maybe he had an emergency.”

You take a few deep breaths to get rid of... whatever feeling is trying to take a hold of you, and stand up to walk over to Chirithy. “You’re right,” you say. “I should give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“I’m sure there’s a good reason!” Despite your attempts to be discreet, Chirithy notices you wiping at your eye. “Don’t be sad. When you’re sad, it makes me sad too. After all, we’re friends, right?”

You sniffle, kind of wishing the ground would just swallow you up but also kind of glad that Chirithy is with you. “Right,” you say, crouching down next to your fuzzy friend. You reach towards Chirithy and pull them into a hug.

“What–? Whoa!” Chirithy startles at the unexpected gesture, then settles into your arms.

“Thanks, Chirithy,” you say. “Let’s go home.”

* * *

You’re sitting on the edge of the fountain when Ephemer comes running down the stairs to the plaza, coming up short just in front of you and panting for breath. He clasps his hands in front of his face in a gesture of apology.

“Sorry!” he says. “I’m so sorry!”

You know you should be upset, but more than that you’re relieved to see your friend again. “You didn’t come yesterday!” you chastise. “I waited all day...”

Ephemer has the most heartbreaking look on his face and you know he really feels bad about breaking your promise. “I’m sorry. I really am!” He ruffles the back of his hair. “There was something important I had to take care of. I hope you can forgive me.”

You stare down at your hands, thinking. Ephemer shifts his weight to his other foot and you can feel him anxiously studying your face. You meet his gaze, a small smile on your lips. “We’re best friends, right?” Ephemer gives you a hopeful smile and you continue, “So, yeah, you’re forgiven.”

“Thank you!” Ephemer says, pulling you off the fountain and into an unexpected hug. “I understand if you’re still mad though. But, if you want, are you still up for our adventure?”

You squeeze him back before pulling away and nodding. “Yeah, let’s go.”

It doesn’t take you nearly as long this time to get back to the place you’d left off your investigation the other day, for which you’re grateful. You inspect the large, unmoving gear set in the path and Ephemer speaks up behind you.

“This is it. Are you with me?”

You take a deep breath, still facing ahead. Yeah, you’re ready. You’ve got your friend by your side. Even if things change, your friendship will remain. Right? You start to open your mouth to reply, but Ephemer interrupts.

“Ah, you’re not ready yet,” he says. “I had a feeling that might be the case.”

What? That didn’t sound like the Ephemer you know. You turn around to look at him and he has the oddest look on his face. There’s an unsettling coil wrapping around your chest. “What do you mean?”

It’s almost as though Ephemer doesn’t hear you. He smiles and holds out his hand like he’s inviting you to come with him. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

You step forward to reach out to him, but a burst of light momentarily blinds you. When you regain your sight, all that’s left in the spot where Ephemer was standing are fluffy white dandelion seeds that scatter off towards the ceiling, then suddenly you’re falling, falling...

You jolt awake and realize that you’re in your room, on your bed in Daybreak Town. Chirithy, curled up at the end of your bed, stands up to look at you. You sit up against your headboard and look down at your hand, the one you’d reached towards Ephemer with. Was that... a dream...?

“Did you have another dream?” Chirithy asks, echoing your thoughts.

“I... I guess that’s what it was... oh.” You bring a hand to your cheek and feel wetness there.

Chirithy studies your face and touches a tiny paw to your arm. “It was about your friend, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah.” You wipe away the lingering tears with the back of your wrist, shaking your head to clear it. “I’m... I’m worried about him, Chirithy. What if he went to the clock tower without me and something happened?”

“So, you want to go search for him?”

You nod, but Chirithy shakes their head. “No way! Only the foretellers are allowed there. Besides...” Chirithy hops off your bed and over to the windowsill. “Now’s not a good time.”

“What do you mean ‘now’s not a good time’?”

Chirithy turns to look out the window. “I can’t go into detail, but the foretellers... Well, lately they’ve been disagreeing on a few things. Let’s just say you should steer clear of that tower for the time being.”

Oh, no. What if Ephemer got caught up in that somehow? If the foretellers are disagreeing, they might be upset if they found out about you and him being friends, seeing as you’re from different Unions. Maybe they decided the two of you can’t see each other anymore and that’s why he didn’t come to the fountain yesterday. Or... maybe something worse, if he found out something he wasn’t supposed to.

If the foretellers really are fighting, it seems to you that there’s all the more reason to investigate the clock tower and find out what they’re up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a long time coming, but our darling boy has at last gone off to do plot things behind the scenes. Boo to canon, making me split them up.   
> The quote from the beginning of the chapter is from the poem at the end of Sora's side in Chain of Memories. It has a lot of neat lines and I'm very curious if it'll become more relevant to the series later on, as it hasn't really been mentioned or quoted the way other openings/closings have.
> 
> Come visit me on Tumblr too! [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com) :)


	17. Desire for All that is Lost

前を向いてればまた会えますか

_ If I face forward, will I meet you again? _

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Chirithy says, their tiny feet working at least triple the speed of yours to keep up with you. You pause to stare out at the clock tower for a moment, then continue down the stairs. “Are you even listening?” Chirithy hurries to keep up but can’t quite match your pace and falls behind.

You hop over the fence and into the empty waterway, where the entrance to the sewers is. Chirithy’s concern is understandable, but this is your best friend you’re talking about. You pull up on the manhole cover, unearthing the ladder that leads farther down, and lower yourself onto the top rungs.

“Wait!” Chirithy says, having finally caught up with you. “Where are you going?”

“To find Ephemer!” you call up to Chirithy, whose tiny face peers down at you from the top of the hole. “Or at least find some answers...” you continue, mostly to yourself. You’d spent the last week asking everyone you could about Ephemer but had wound up empty-handed. Now it’s time to take matters into your own hands.

Chirithy appears in a  _ poof _ to join you when you reach the bottom of the ladder, and you summon your keyblade to your side. “You don’t have to come with me,” you say, gesturing to the path ahead of you. “I don’t want you to get in trouble too if I get caught.”

Chirithy turns to look at the path, then back at you. “Your mind’s made up?” they ask in a small voice. You nod. “Then I’m not leaving you alone. We’re a team!”

You smile. “Okay. Stay close to me; I’ll take care of any Heartless we find.”

Luckily, as you make your way closer to the place you and Ephemer left off your investigation several days ago, there are considerably fewer Heartless than there were before. A few Shadows sneak in front of you by flattening themselves along the floor, but they’re easily dispatched. You’ve just turned around after taking care of some Hook Bats that wanted to ambush you from behind when you notice there’s someone standing farther down the path.

_ Ephemer...? _ It’s too dark to tell without any lanterns lit that far away. You start to jog towards the figure, only to come up short a few feet away.

Chirithy recognizes them first. “Master Ava...?”

Of course, this is Master Ava. You’ve never talked to her (and she’s shorter than you’d imagined she’d be), but the fox mask is a dead giveaway that she’s the foreteller who leads Union Vulpes.

Master Ava glances down at your Chirithy then up at you and unexpectedly calls you by your name. “Why are you here?” she asks.

How does she know who you are, when you’re not even in her Union and you’ve never met? Did Ephemer tell her? Does she know where he is? “Master Ava, you know Ephemer, right?”

“Ephemer?” Between the dim lighting and the mask covering her face, you can’t make out Master Ava’s expression. “Yes, I know him, but you still haven’t answered my question.”

In the event that Ephemer was never caught down here, you choose your words carefully so you won’t get him in trouble. “I’m looking for him. I had a dream that he came down here and said he would be waiting for me. He promised to meet up with me, but he never came. I haven’t seen him for weeks. There have been rumours that the foretellers have been having disagreements, so I worried something might have happened.”

“This place is restricted,” says Master Ava. She walks past you and Chirithy to stand blocking the path that leads back to the ladder.

“I know,” you say, looking down. “But I came to find my friend. I need to know he’s alright, even if it means breaking the rules.”

Beneath the mask, you swear you see the corner of Master Ava’s lips twitch upwards. “You’re honest,” she says. “I like you. You’re not too far off-base about your friend, but I can’t tell you much else right now.”

Does that mean that something really did happen to Ephemer...?

There’s a flash of light, and Master Ava summons her keyblade. Beside you, Chirithy gasps. “Master Ava?!”

She can’t seriously be intending to fight you...? You’re loath to summon your keyblade, but then she drops into a fighting stance so you hold out your hand, readying yourself. Chirithy skitters to hide behind you.

“Show me what you can do,” the foreteller says.

“Master Ava...” you say, searching the face under her mask for any kind of expression that will explain this sudden change of events. Is this a test? Or is this what happened to Ephemer when he came down here?

“Don’t hold back,” she says, moving her weapon to prepare for an attack. With no other choice, you summon Starlight to your hand.

Master Ava lets out a yell and swings her keyblade towards you. You catch it with your own blade and are surprised at the force behind the blow from such a petite woman, though you suppose you shouldn’t expect anything less from a foreteller. You deflect the blow to the side, but she comes back at you almost immediately, forcing you to take a step backwards to defend yourself. Another step backwards and your mind jumps to Chirithy, worried you’re bringing the fight too close. You deflect the next blow to your right and cartwheel in the other direction so you can come at her from the side, swiping low.

She manages to block your attack but just barely, and before she can recover, you lunge forwards and your keyblade connects with her shoulder. She staggers back a few steps and her mouth sets into a grimace. Before you know what’s happening, Master Ava’s figure seems to flicker and split into several identical copies of herself, which surround you and lunge forward, keyblades outstretched.

You try to get off a Reflect spell but it’s too late; the force of the combined attack knocks all the wind out of you and you’re sent sprawling onto the floor, wet stone skidding past your cheek. Master Ava walks over to you, keyblade raised by her shoulder as though she intends to finish you off. Some survival instinct takes over and you raise your own weapon into the air.

“ _ Light! _ ” you cry, remembering what Ephemer had done to save you the last time you were down here.

Power wells up inside your keyblade and you pull yourself to your feet, leaping into the air out of reach of Master Ava’s weapon before releasing the spell. Ragnarok bursts forth from Starlight’s tip, raining lasers of light down onto Master Ava until she staggers and falls to her knees.

You land between her and Chirithy and almost fall over, the attack taking more out of you than you’d expected. You shakily raise your keyblade again, but Master Ava dismisses her weapon, standing to inspect you. This time you really do fall over, your knees giving out in relief, but you manage to catch yourself on the railing. Chirithy hurries over to you.

“Not bad,” says Master Ava. “I see a lot of potential in you.” She tilts her head. “But I also see sadness in your heart. Hanging onto it will eventually lead to darkness; you need to somehow let it go.”

She walks closer to you and you push off of the railing to stand up on your own. Nodding to your Chirithy, she says, “With this little one helping you, you’ll be fine. Now, go home.”

“But I... what about my—”

“I’m sorry, but this area is strictly off-limits, all right?”

Your investigation is far from over, and you have so many questions, but you suppose you should be grateful Master Ava didn’t strike you down just now. Swallowing your words, you nod and say, “I understand.” You share a look with Chirithy, and the two of you head back the way you came in.

* * *

Back in your room at the end of the day, you gratefully crawl under the covers of your bed and stare up at the ceiling. You’re not sure if you’re so tired from the day that you’ll fall asleep instantly, or if so much happened that you won’t be able to turn your mind off and you’ll be awake all night.

Chirithy hops up onto the windowsill and stares out at the clock tower. With the lights off, they’re little more than a silhouette against Daybreak Town’s nightscape. You yawn and roll onto your side, closing your eyes. Though you still have dozens of thoughts floating around in your head, exhaustion wins after only a few moments and you drift off, aware for just a moment that Chirithy seems to be saying something but then sleep takes you and you don’t remember anything more.

*

“That was one doozy of a day, huh?” Chirithy says quietly, looking out your window. “Betcha didn’t think you’d end up having to fight a foreteller.”

There’s quiet and Chirithy wonders if you heard, but when they turn around they see that you’ve already fallen asleep. Well, it  _ was _ certainly a long day. You deserve the rest.

A quiet voice from over by the doorway causes Chirithy to startle. “I’m sorry. But it wasn’t fun for me either, you know.”

“Master Ava...!” Chirithy exclaims softly. The foreteller approaches your bedside, looking down at you. “What are you doing here?”

“Please,” she says, “call me ‘Ava’.” She turns away from you to address your Chirithy. “Did you show your wielder the dream of Ephemer?”

Chirithy shakes their head. “No. That wasn’t me.”

Ava brings her hand to her chin, thinking. “Then perhaps it was Ephemer himself.”

“So, it was more than just a dream?” Chirithy asks. “How is that possible?”

“Ephemer’s getting very close to the truth,” Ava explains. She turns to look down at your sleeping figure again. “He’s fallen into an unchained state, and now finds himself in a different realm.” She reaches her hand out as if she thinks to brush your hair back from your face, but then hesitates and pulls back. “From that realm, I believe he tried reaching out to his friend here. If they connected, even in a dream, that means your wielder is getting closer to that realm, too. Whether they continue down that path is up to their own heart.”

Ava turns back to Chirithy and steps away from the bed, walking back over to the other side of the room. “Chirithy, you have to protect your wielder from the nightmares, so the wind can carry them far away from here.” And with that, she departs as quietly as she had come in.

“Me...?” Chirithy murmurs to themself. You continue to slumber on peacefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I miss Ephemer already :( It makes me sad that in-game he doesn't really have a proper way of communicating with Player while he's away. Of course, they also only knew each other for some three hours or so in canon, so maybe it wasn't a huge priority. We _are_ , however, getting pretty close to the introduction of a new character!  
> The next chapter's a sort of an in-between transitional chapter, and pretty short, so I was thinking I'd upload it on Friday with a regular lengthy chapter on Tuesday like normal. It didn't really fit right as an addition right after this chapter, or as the beginning of the next chapter, but seemed a shame to leave it out. Aaaand this is my fanfic so the chapters can be whatever length I want :P  
> Thank you very much to those who leave kudos and especially comments! I've had fun talking to some of you on Tumblr, too -- feel free to chat with me or request headcanons, whatever! [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com)


	18. Fragments of Sorrow

わたしたちに出来なかったことを 

とても懐かしく思うよ

_ I think back to the things _

_ we couldn't do together and miss you more _

You step out of your light portal and back into Daybreak Town at the fountain plaza, then dismiss your keyblade and drop onto the fountain wall. These past few missions taking care of Heartless in a Corridor of Darkness have really been taking a toll on you. They’re much more exhausting than regular missions. On this last mission you’d had to take out a Darkside all on your own – usually your whole party would help take down Heartless that big.

Your party... you’ve been trying to be more active lately, helping out other members and sharing your knowledge where you can. It’s been a good distraction ever since Ephemer disappeared. About half of the members of your original party split off a few months ago to form a more hardcore party, but there are still some familiar faces left in your current party.

Chirithy appears next to you on the fountain in a  _ poof _ , smiling happily. “You were great in there, kiddo!” Lately it seems Chirithy is trying to be extra encouraging to cheer you up. You appreciate the effort, at least, even if it doesn’t change anything.

Chirithy seems to notice your exhaustion and continues, “Why don’t we call it a day? You never know when we’ll get another mission like that, so you’d better get rested up!”

You nod. “Yeah, I’ll go home in a bit. There’s somewhere I want to go first.”

Chirithy warns you not to stay out too late, then disappears in their usual magic cloud. You drum your fingers against your leg, deliberating for a moment before hopping off the wall and heading out.

* * *

It seems much cooler up here today, or maybe you’d always been having so much fun before that you failed to notice the chill. Shutting the trapdoor behind you, you walk up to the lighthouse window and lean your elbows on the sill, gazing out at the horizon. It’s the first time you’ve been up here since Ephemer disappeared almost a month ago.

Something about being up here alone feels... wrong. You’d thought maybe coming up here would help you feel closer to him, but now that you’re here, it feels like there’s an icy hand clutching at your chest.

A tear drops onto the stone windowsill and you turn away from the view, squeezing your eyes shut. You shouldn’t have come up here. Master Ava said that hanging onto this sadness would eventually lead to darkness. But what’s the alternative? Forgetting? You don’t want to forget, either. You have so many great memories with Ephemer. And so many more memories you wanted to make together...

You shake your head to clear it, then pull yourself up so you’re sitting on the windowsill like you usually would, legs dangling outside. If you close your eyes, you can almost pretend that Ephemer is sitting beside you.

You’ll see him again someday; you just know it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tada, "bonus" chapter of the week. Short but sweet so I didn't want to leave it out.
> 
> The line from the beginning of the chapter is from the Japanese version of Sanctuary (Passion). I translated it a little liberally here; a more literal translation might be "I think back to the things we couldn't do together and feel nostalgic" but it sounds a bit stilted in English so I think the concept of missing the lost opportunities and chances to do things fits well here.
> 
> Regular updates still scheduled for Tuesday :) In the meantime, feel free to drop by my KH Tumblr! [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com)


	19. Tension Rising

_Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all_

_Nothing's like before_

Time drags on, and you carry out your missions as usual. You haven’t heard anything more about the conflict between the foretellers, but the competition between the different Unions is fiercer than ever. Once, in Dwarf Woodlands, you’d tried to befriend another keyblade wielder only for them to stop talking to you altogether once they found out you were in different Unions. Your Chirithy had tried to cheer you up afterwards, but the memory still sticks with you.

After finishing up your mission in the Underworld you return to Daybreak Town like always, Chirithy right behind you. You dismiss your keyblade and jump to sit up on the fountain, leaning back to stare up at the sky. Your muscles are sore from battling the Heartless.

“You did great out there, champ!” says Chirithy with their usual ‘try-to-cheer-you-up’ pep. You shrug, and Chirithy continues. “I know it’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.”

“I’m just tired, Chirithy,” you say, closing your eyes against the brightness of the sun shining down on you. “It feels like we get sent on bigger and harder missions every day, and it’s been ages since I got a day off.”

Chirithy looks down at the ground. “I know, I know. But if you give up now, the other Unions will get ahead.”

You open your mouth to reply, but a voice from behind you answers before you get the chance. “But why does that matter?”

Opening your eyes, you jump off the fountain to see a girl with long black hair stepping out of a portal of light, which vanishes behind her. “It’s not a competition,” she says. “Or at least, it shouldn’t be. Our goal of protecting the light is the same; there’s no need to fight.”

A bit flustered at her sudden appearance, it takes you a second to reply. “I... I mean yes, I agree, but uh, have we met?”

The girl dismisses her keyblade and pulls herself up onto the fountain. “The name’s Skuld!” she says, holding out a hand. You introduce yourself as well and shake her hand. “You’re friends with Ephemer, right? He told me all about you.”

Though you’d intended to just shake her hand in greeting, your fingers tighten around hers when she mentions Ephemer. “You know Ephemer?”

“Don’t look so surprised!” she says, pulling her hand away and patting the spot on the fountain beside her. You jump up again to sit, and your Chirithy hops up next to you as well. She continues, “Ephemer used to be in my party, you know.”

“Oh! He told me about his party – I remember him saying his leader had dreams of making the party into something bigger and better. That means you’re in Union Unicornis too then, right? How did you meet?”

Oddly, Skuld seems to redden from something you said, but replies as if nothing had happened. “We met not long after I became a Keyblade wielder. There was never a dull moment with him around.”

You think of all those evenings spent up in the lighthouse, all the investigating, running around in the rain together... “Yeah, that sounds like Ephemer all right.”

“But then one day, he just quit.” Skuld stares down at her lap. “I was really upset about it for a while... but then he showed up in my dream the other night and told me to find you.”

“You had a dream about him too? But why would he tell you to find me?”

Skuld shrugs. “Good question. I was actually hoping that you could tell me. See, I don’t really understand why he was in my dream to begin with, but he asked me to go with you, so here I am.”

“I had a dream about him too, not long after he first disappeared. We had been investigating a way to get into the clock tower and I dreamed that he told me I wasn’t ready yet, and that he’d be waiting.”

“Hmm,” Skuld muses, tapping her fingers against the fountain wall. “If he’s waiting for you, then why don’t we go to the place where you’re supposed to meet him?” She hops off her perch and looks up at you.

Beside you, Chirithy speaks up. “No way! Master Ava told us to stay away from there–”

“–I’m in,” you say, interrupting whatever your Chirithy was going continue saying. You hop off the fountain wall and nod to Skuld. “There has to be a reason she doesn’t want us down there. Right?”

Skuld smiles. “I have a feeling it’s the same reason Ephemer asked me to go with you. Two is better than one, right?” She glances down at your Chirithy. “Three, if you’d like to come along, too.” Chirithy paces back and forth nervously but nods, and Skuld continues. “Great! Now let’s get moving—”

A large _boom_ from somewhere to your left interrupts your conversation. You all turn to the source of the sound, sharing looks of confusion.

“What was that?!” Skuld asks, squinting up at the sky for some sign of the disturbance.

“I think it was over that way,” you say, pointing. You summon your keyblade and nod to Skuld.

“Let’s go,” she says, summoning her own Starlight and taking off up the stairs by the fountain plaza. You follow close at her heels.

“Wait! Where are you going?” Chirithy calls, running after the two of you. 

Running along the cobblestone streets, you notice movement up on the rooftops and slow down to look. 

“Is that… Master Invi?” you say, mostly to yourself. Your Union leader is on the rooftops, keyblade drawn, seemingly reeling from being knocked down. Another masked figure leaps up from behind another building, preparing for another blow, which Master Invi deflects with a flash of her keyblade.

“The foretellers!” Skuld cries in alarm. A blast of lightning bursts from the other foreteller’s keyblade and slams into the place where Master Invi had been moments earlier with a deafening boom. A bear mask… Master Aced?

They leap off the roof and continue their fight out of view. You run to the railing, straining to see more of what’s happening. “Why are they fighting?” you ask, not really expecting an answer.

Skuld looks down at her keyblade. “Ephemer was right…” she muses. “It’s what I was trying to tell you earlier. Just before I woke up, he told me…” Skuld pauses to meet your gaze. “He told me the end of the world is near.”

Beside you, you feel your Chirithy stiffen and reach a hand down to reassure them. “The end of the world…?” you repeat in disbelief.

“Yeah.” Skuld nods, and gestures to the rooftops where the foretellers had been moments earlier. “And after what we just saw, I can’t help thinking it’s true. This world will disappear, just like Ephemer did.”

You stare up at the darkened tiles on the roof where Master Aced’s lightning blast struck. Now isn’t the time for sitting around, pretending the problems with the Unions and the foretellers don’t exist. Now is the time for action. “Let’s go,” you say to Skuld, giving your Chirithy one last pat before stepping back.

She nods. “Lead the way.”

“Wait, what?” your Chirithy calls from behind as the two of you take off towards the clock tower. “What’s happening!” You can hear their tiny footsteps as they rush to keep up with you.

As you cross a bridge on the way to the clock tower, a portal of light suddenly opens in front of you and you pull up short, wondering wildly if Master Ava somehow knows about your expedition and has come to stop you once again. Out of the portal tumble out three of the most bizarre and unsettling creatures you think you’ve ever laid eyes on – Heartless? …No. That doesn’t quite seem right. These look like… they’re like Heartless but they’re also… _not_. They have strange glowing eyes and a disconcerting twitchy gait. You hold a hand out to stop Skuld from walking any farther and bring your keyblade in front of your body as both a threat and as a shield.

“... _ux…_ ” A strange gargling noise comes from one of the creatures. Its… hands? claws?... clench and unclench into fists as its blank eyes stare at you.

“ _...Lux…_ ” says one of the other creatures, hopping a few steps closer. 

“ _Give… Lux…_ ” The third one lowers its hands to the ground and scuttles towards you. You glance back at Skuld and retreat a few steps to put some distance between you and these… things, then drop to a fighting stance, keyblade extended. Give Lux? Are these creatures… actually talking?

“Not a chance!” yells Skuld, brandishing her keyblade. She charges towards the closest one, swinging her weapon in a wide arc.

“ _Give me Lux!_ ” the creature screeches, leaping towards her. You slash your keyblade upwards and catch its back legs, throwing the creature off-balance and sending it sprawling back to the ground. Another one takes a swipe at your knees and you fend off the attack with the back of your blade. Skuld charges up a spell that sends the third creature flying backwards just as you land a good hard blow on the one that had tried to attack you.

The first creature that jumped at Skuld gets up and you swing your keyblade towards it, but it runs right past you, gathering up its comrades and racing off the other end of the bridge. “What the…?” you say, watching them for a moment before shaking your head to clear it and chasing after them.

A familiar _poof_ sounds and then there’s another creature in your path – a… well your first thought is that it’s another Chirithy, as their shape and outfit are the same, but their fur is a mangled-looking purple colour, and their eyes are a piercing crimson. Your own Chirithy comes up beside you again and you put a protective hand on their head, holding out your keyblade once again at this unfamiliar creature. 

Your Chirithy pushes forward past you and approaches the dark Chirithy. “Aren’t you…?” 

“Long time no see,” says the dark Chirithy. You and Skuld exchange a look and you raise your shoulders in confusion, gesturing towards the dark Chirithy. 

“So it is you,” your Chirithy continues. 

“You don’t look very happy to see me…” The dark Chirithy’s eyes narrow. “Come on, I was just trying to help. I thought if I took away everyone’s Lux, there’d be no reason to fight over it anymore.” They puff up their chest and lift their chin to the sky. “Aren’t I the greatest?”

You’ve never seen any Chirithy act like this. What is happening? At least Skuld seems as confused as you are. “That colour…” she murmurs to you quietly, staring at the other Chirthy’s purple fur.

“You like my new look?” the dark Chirithy says with a chuckle.

“You’ve been tainted by darkness.” You’ve also never heard _your_ Chirithy sound like this as they talk to the dark Chirithy. Do these two know each other…? Do all Chirithies know each other? What is going on?

“Darkness…?!” Skuld gasps, and the dark Chirithy turns their unsettling red gaze to her.

“What’s wrong? Do you hate darkness? Well, let me tell you a little secret: light and dark are two halves of the same coin. They’re like day and night. One can’t exist without the other. So you should embrace it, like they did!”

_Like they did…?_ “You mean those three… _things_ used to be human?” you ask.

The dark Chirithy seems very pleased as they turn to look at you. “You betcha!” they say.

Behind you, you hear Skuld suck in a sharp breath. “Were they wielders, too?” she asks.

“Right-o. But unlike you, those three can no longer use the power of Medals. The strength they fought you with was all their own!”

It’s true you use medals inlaid into your keyblade to provide you with strength when you go out on missions, but there isn’t anything wrong with that, right? Calling on the strength of present and future heroes is one of the keyblade’s many abilities. 

“To be perfectly honest,” the dark Chirithy continues, “they were pretty wimpy before. But darkness has a way of finding those with weak hearts and making them strong.” Their face contorts into what you can only assume is meant to be a smile, but it makes a shiver run down your spine. “Isn’t darkness so sweet?”

“Those aren't the teachings!” your Chirithy calls out unexpectedly. You take a step toward them, intending to protect your companion from harm, but Chirithy shakes their head at you. 

“Teachings-smeechings!” the dark Chirithy cackles. “The truth of this world isn’t something you can teach, Chirithy. It’s something you have to learn for yourself.”

“Who is your wielder?” Chirithy asks. “Where are they?” That’s right… every wielder has their own Chirithy, so this one must belong to someone who’s fallen to the darkness.

The dark Chirithy simply laughs. “Closer than you think,” they say before disappearing in a familiar _poof_ of purple.

Skuld looks back and forth between you and your Chirithy. “What just happened?” she asks. You shrug, but your Chirithy speaks up.

“That Chirithy… we’ve met before. I don’t know which wielder they belong to, but they’ve definitely fallen to darkness. We need to be careful.”

Skuld nods, her mouth set in a grim line. “Let’s go,” she says, and you head off once again for the clock tower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skuld has arrived!!! At last!!!
> 
> Interestingly, the last chapter brought this fic to the precise word count total of 36 000 words. I didn't plan for such a round and even number but it was cool nonetheless~
> 
> Also, who else is excited at the Dark Road news??? I gotta say, Hermod reminds me a lot of Ephemer and I love me one (1) curly haired boy so I'm quite excited to get to know these new characters. The Norse mythology theming is also really interesting, especially considering the origins of Skuld's name as well.
> 
> Seriously, hit me up with your Dark Road theories and thoughts, I want to hear them :) [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com)


	20. A Dance with Fate

Your third time back in these sewers, and you’re starting to get a feel for how they’re laid out. There’s even a separate entrance closer to the place where you and Ephemer left off your investigation, one that’s accessible even when they fill the waterways back up with water. You and Skuld make you way down the path, taking out the Heartless you find along the way. No Invisibles this time either. 

At last, you arrive next to the large gear that intersects the pathway and pull up short. Skuld comes up behind you. “Is this where you last met with Ephemer?” she asks, and you nod.

“Yeah,” you say. “And when I came back here on my own, Master Ava stopped us from going any farther.”

“There  _ has _ to be something up ahead,” says Skuld, walking up to the gear and peering at the dark pathway beyond it. Your Chirithy pushes past the two of you and turns to stand with their back to the gear.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Chirithy asks in a small voice. “Between those three weirdos and that dark Chirithy, I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

You crouch down next to Chirithy and put a hand on their shoulder. “Honestly Chirithy, I’m not sure I’m going to like what we’ll find in the clock tower either, but now I have to know the truth. I need to do this.”

Skuld crouches down next to you and addresses your Chirithy. “You know your way around the tower, don’t you?” she asks.

Chirithy nods slowly. “Y-yeah, why do you ask?”

“Well, I was hoping you could show us the way,” she explains.

“But you don’t have to come,” you add. “We can find our way too. I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

Chirithy paces back and forth and you take a step back to give them some space. Finally, they stop to look up at you. “I… I suppose I could come…” With a bit more authority to their voice, Chirithy continues, “But this area is off-limits, so once you get a quick peek, we’re outta here. Okay?”

“Deal,” you say, nodding to Chirithy. Skuld agrees, and the three of you pass through the giant gear to explore the other side – the clock tower.

After a long stretch of pathway much like the rest of the sewer you’d explored, some stairs take you up to a walkway elevated higher above the water. There are more clock gears whirring around on either side of the path, filling the hallway with a sort of mechanical grinding noise. Stalactites line the ceiling, concealing more Hook Bats that drop down to attack you on your way to the tower. 

More stairs, more walking, and more Heartless. Chirithy directs you on the correct path when you come to a fork. After some time, you find yourself in a large room filled with many clock gears laid horizontally about level with the floor, interlocked together. In the center is a particularly large gear with a pole running through the middle that seems to be some kind of elevator.

You turn to Skuld. “I think this is it. We need to get across to that gear.”

“Yeah.” Skuld nods, pushing some of her long hair behind her ears. She starts to swing her foot over the railing when your Chirithy interrupts.

“What are you doing?” they ask, staring up at Skuld.

“Well, I don’t see a better way to get to that gear in the middle, do you?”

Chirithy paces back and forth again as Skuld swings her other leg over the railing and prepares to jump onto the closest gear. You dismiss your keyblade and crouch down, offering Chirithy your hand. “Come on, Chirithy. We’ll go across together.”

Chirithy still seems unsure, but lets you pick them up as you hop over the railing yourself and follow Skuld. She makes it to the next gear, grabbing onto the pole running through the center of it to stabilize herself, and you follow suit. It’s rather disorienting landing on a platform that’s spinning, and you have to keep walking to keep your bearing as you prepare to step onto the next gear.

“Made it!” Skuld says triumphantly when she reaches the elevator. “Here, hand me your Chirithy before you come across.”

You cautiously lean over to hand Chirithy to her, walking sideways to stay in the same position while the gear rotates. Then, after taking a few steps back, you take a running leap to join Skuld on the elevator gear. 

“How do you think it–” you begin, but are interrupted as the elevator suddenly begins to rise without any interaction from you or your companions. 

“Almost there,” says Skuld, watching the tower walls whiz past. Chirithy stays close by you, one tiny paw by your leg. 

The elevator comes to a grinding halt, and the only way forward is a large door. You and Skuld both summon your keyblades once more and push it open.

The room inside is massive, with several more clock gears on the right side and a large table on the left. There’s a desk on the other side of the room, along with shelves and shelves of books. It feels… oddly familiar.

“What is this place?” Skuld asks, looking around. 

Chirithy walks in front of you and turns around. “This is the final room– the foretellers’ chamber,” they explain. That’s it–this is exactly the room from your dreams. You remember seeing the foretellers talking to that hooded figure over by the desk.

Skuld pushes past Chirithy to wander farther inside, brushing her hand along some of the bookshelves. “Do you think Ephemer was here?” she asks quietly, running her finger along the book spines. You walk to the desk and gently push aside some of the papers, searching for anything that might be important. You don’t recognize the titles of the books stacked here either. Some seem to be written in languages you don't understand. 

“If he came as far as we did, then maybe,” you reply, also in a hushed tone. It’s something about the mood of this place.

“Well, there’s no one here now and nothing to see,” your Chirithy says quickly. “Can we go now?”

Skuld steps back from the bookcase and glances over at the large table on the other side of the room. “I guess,” she says. “I was just expecting… more. It’s kind of a letdown, really. I wonder what’s so important about this place.”

“I mean, Ephemer isn’t here, but maybe something in these books…” you murmur, still rifling through the items on the desk. Maybe something in here talks about the Unions, or about the Book of Prophecies…

A voice from the other side of the room makes you freeze. “What are you doing here?”

You turn, letting the paper you’d picked up fall back onto the desk. A cloaked figure stands in the doorway, a snake mask concealing most of her face. “Master Invi!” your Chirithy exclaims softly. Your Union leader.

While you're still in shock, Skuld is the first to speak up. “W-we’re so sorry!” she pleads, stepping forwards. Master Invi sweeps into the room, studying her from a few feet away. “We were just looking for someone,” Skuld explains.

Your brain finally kicks in and you join your friends in the middle of the room, putting yourself between them and your Union leader. “I’m so sorry, this is–”

Master Invi interrupts you and addresses your Chirithy instead. “Chirithy, I expected more from you. You know this area is off-limits.”

Chirithy visibly shrinks, staring at the floor. “I-I’m sorry…”

The foreteller walks past your group to stand by the desk, staring at the papers you’d been rifling through moments earlier. “I caught another wielder in here just the other day. A friend of yours?”

You and Skuld exchange looks. “Yes, he is,” you say slowly.

“Did you talk to him?” Skuld asks.

Master Invi runs her hand over one of the books on the desk. “Yes,” she says. “But you must know that his Union gathers Lux for a reason that contradicts ours.”

This time you know she’s talking specifically to you, since Skuld is also in Union Unicornis. Always about the competition between Unions.

“He befriended you to get his hands on information,” Master Invi continues. “Nothing more.”

“That’s not true!” Your voice echoes off of the high ceiling. Ephemer is your friend. Being in different Unions, or the competition–none of that had anything to do with your friendship. 

Your outburst causes the foreteller to turn around. “There’s no need to worry,” she says. “He is a threat no longer.”

_ A threat…? _ You hear a sharp intake of breath beside you. “Did you…?” Skuld begins hesitantly. “Is Ephemer…?”

No. They wouldn’t– _ couldn’t _ . Your best friend. There’s no way– 

“He’s gone.” Master Invi’s voice is devoid of emotion, and her expression is completely unreadable behind her mask.

You think you feel your Chirithy push at your hand, trying to comfort you, but you have the sensation of being strangely far away from your body. Gone.  _ Gone. _ Your best friend. It can’t be true. This is all a dream. Right? You wanted to find him, so you’re having another dream that you went to the foreteller’s tower. There’s just no way this is happening. You feel like you’re falling apart.

“How could you?” Skuld chokes out.

Master Invi tilts her head. “What are you going to do?”

“Nothing!” Your Chirithy steps forward, its voice quivering. “Master Invi, this is my fault! All of it! They didn’t do anything wrong.”

Something settles in your mind and you place your hand on Chirithy and shake your head, then step forward to face your Union leader. Your keyblade weighs heavy in your grip.

“This whole thing was my idea, Master Invi,” you say. “I was the one who wanted to look for Ephemer. You see, since I became a keyblade wielder I visited a lot of different worlds. I spent a lot of time and effort contributing to my Union and gathering Lux. I made friends and I lost them; I even had to fight people I considered my friends. I did everything that was expected of me without a second thought.”

You take a deep breath and continue. “And one day I met Ephemer. Even though we were in different Unions, we helped each other out and he became one of my… my closest friends.” There’s an odd lump in your throat but you press on past it. “Even when the rivalry between the Unions was growing, even when I lost other friends to the competition, no matter what happened, I knew we were still friends. We’ve grown and learned about each other and about our place in the world together. But you took him away from me.”

You take another step forwards, fixing your gaze on your Union leader and drawing yourself up to your full height. You ignore the tears you can feel building behind your eyes, the slight tremble in your hand as you grip your keyblade. “I feel sad, I feel angry, I feel hurt,” you say, keeping your voice as steady as you can manage. “Maybe that means I have darkness in my heart; I don’t care. But I can’t let you get away with what you did to my best friend. Even if I have to fight you, even if I don’t stand a chance, even if I may disappear… I will fight, because I know in my heart that Ephemer would do the same if he were here.”

And with that, you bring your keyblade in front of you, gripping it with both hands, and drop into a fighting stance. You hear Skuld and Chirithy gasp behind you.

“Master Invi,” you say, staring up at your Union leader. “I mean no disrespect, but this is something I must do.”

Silently, Master Invi summons her keyblade to her hand. The blue and silver colours match that of her robe, and an intricate design curls around the tip like vines to form the keyblade’s teeth. She raises the blade in front of her. “So be it.”

Chirithy calls out your name, but you hold out a hand to prevent your friends from getting involved. “This is my fight!”

Master Invi waits for you to make the first move, expression as unreadable as ever. You lunge forward with your keyblade outstretched and she parries easily, deflecting your blow to the side. She dodges your next attack too, and the next, and the next, and you start to wonder if she’s simply biding her time or if she doesn’t intend to actually fight you at all when she swings at you out of seemingly nowhere and catches the back of your knee with her blade, sending you staggering towards the ground. You manage to turn the fall into a roll and stand up quickly, favouring your other leg for support as you get to your feet.

Master Invi comes at you once more for another attack, this one slashing horizontally at chest height. You catch it with your own weapon, pushing her blow past your body before raising your keyblade to attack once more. A loud  _ clang _ echoes throughout the room as your weapons clash, and your wrists strain a little with the effort of pushing Master Invi’s keyblade back.  _ Now _ she means business.

You take a step to the side and use Master Invi’s momentum to push her blade off yours so it crashes against the floor where you’d been standing, then unleash a flurry of quick, jabbing attacks, not meant to wound so much as to throw your opponent off-balance. Your keyblade connects with her side but she doesn’t cry out, just grits her teeth and retaliates with an impossibly fast blow that sends you flying into one of the bookshelves, the taste of blood sharp in your mouth. 

You think you hear Skuld calling your name but decide to ignore it, pushing yourself back to your feet to face Master Invi once again. The foreteller charges up a spell, thrusting her keyblade forward to release a burst of Blizzaga magic and at the same time you yell “Reflect!”, sending the ice crystal bouncing back towards its caster. The effort of deflecting the spell knocks you to the floor and you see Master Invi get hit with her own spell, sending her staggering backwards.

Skuld runs over to you, and though you swear you’d only just blinked, suddenly the room around you is no longer the foretellers’ chamber but the same sewer pathways you’d been running through not an hour earlier. 

Your keyblade, which you’d dropped when you fell, vanishes in a flash of light. You hold up a hand, thinking you’ll need to summon it back, when you see Master Invi walking towards you once more with what seems to be a smile on her face. She dismisses her own keyblade and speaks.

“Congratulations,” she says. “You fought admirably.” There’s a flash of light, and then in an instant the person standing before you is no longer Master Invi but…

“Master Ava…?” Chirithy’s tiny voice pipes up from behind you.

The Vulpes Union leader walks over to you and casts some kind of healing magic that erases the pain in your body before she steps back. Skuld holds out a hand to help you to your feet.

Master Ava addresses you and Skuld by name. “Thank you,” she says, “for showing me the strength of your hearts. I hope you’ll forgive me for deceiving you, but the foreteller you fought, and the room you were in, were both merely projections.”

Skuld steps forward. “But why? What was the point?”

Master Ava’s face grows dark. “It’s as Ephemer stated in your dream,” she says. “The world will soon end.” You turn to look at your companions, who appear equally distressed. Master Ava continues, “But if all wielders disappear along with the world, there will be no one left to drive away the ensuing darkness. So we must prevent this at all costs.”

The end of the world… Ephemer found about about this, then, and tried to warn you and Skuld through your dreams. 

Master Ava walks past the three of you to stand blocking the path to the clock tower the way she did the last time you fought her down here. “My role in all of this is to gather wielders with great potential, regardless of their Unions. They must survive for the world after.”

“The world after…?” you repeat.

“This is all so… I-I don’t understand,” says Skuld, her eyebrows pushed together. “So, what happened to Ephemer?”

“Ephemer must have caught wind of the fact that there was more to everything than what he’d been taught, so he started questioning things. He went looking for the truth because he knew there was one to be found.”

Of course Ephemer had been curious about the world, the Unions, the foretellers. You’d spent ages discussing these things on top of the lighthouse, looking for answers. The real question you wanted to ask, though, was why he’d left you behind right at the peak of your journey together, right at the moment you were about to find answers. Had he wanted to protect you? Did he not trust you? Did he have no other choice?

Master Ava turns back to look at you and continues. “That’s how I knew Ephemer was the one, the one I could count on to lead the Dandelions in my stead.”

“Dandelions?” you ask, thinking back to the dream you’d had where Ephemer had vanished and left behind white dandelion seeds that floated off into the sky. 

“They’re a special group of Keyblade wielders that will remain after the rest of us are gone,” Master Ava explains. “It was my role to put the Dandelions together.” She gazes down at the ground, and her voice carries regret. “But, I have to be there when the inevitable events unfold, so I need someone to replace me when I’m gone.” She raises her gaze. “And I chose Ephemer. He accepted, and now he’s far away from here, waiting.”

There’s a funny feeling trying to claw its way up from your chest. On one hand, the relief from finding out that your best friend is safe, that he’s alright (if perhaps far away), is enough to make you lightheaded. On the other hand, you can’t help but struggle with the thought that he left you behind, that he left his party behind, that he didn’t trust you enough to take you with him. All the events of the day are beginning to weigh heavily on you.

“So then… he’s all right?” Skuld asks in a small voice.

“Yes, he’s fine.”

Skuld’s shoulders slump in relief and you feel an intense urge to hug her, but decide to hold off for now. Instead, you pick up your Chirithy and hold them close, feeling some of the tension drain off from your own body. At least he’s safe.

“However,” the foreteller continues, “this world is not. There is a wielder who has been corrupted, and the Chirithy you saw earlier is proof of that.” She walks a few paces towards you and you set Chirithy back down on the ground. “I want the world to come to be filled with light. That’s why only wielders with a strong resistance to darkness are chosen as Dandelions.” She pauses to look at you and Skuld in turn. “So I ask both of you: will you join us?”

Skuld brings her hand to her chin and gazes down at the floor for a moment, thinking hard, before nodding and looking back at Master Ava. “Of course, Master Ava,” she says. “Thank you.”

You remain silent, pursing your lips and looking away. Both Skuld and Chirithy turn to look at you, and Skuld calls your name questioningly. 

“What’ll happen to the others?” you ask. “The ones who aren’t chosen?”

Master Ava looks grim. “They will have no choice but to fight in the Keyblade War.”

“The Keyblade War…?” Skuld echoes. 

“I’m afraid it’s inevitable.”

You look away for a moment to collect your thoughts. So, people who don’t get to join the Dandelions will be forced to fight each other…? That doesn’t seem right. And how can Master Ava be so sure that the end of the world is coming? Surely there’s something that can be done to stop it. 

You look up at the foreteller. “May I take some time to think about my decision?”

Skuld turns to look at you in surprise. “What?”

Master Ava seems unfazed. “Of course,” she says. “Take all the time you need. The decision is yours to make, and you should do what feels right.” A sad sort of smile appears on her face. “I just ask that you keep this to yourselves. I’m afraid the future is a very… sensitive subject.” The three of you nod. “Now, you know that you shouldn’t be down here. I hope I won’t hear of any more trouble from you in the future.”

“Of course,” you say. “We’ll show ourselves out. Thank you, Master Ava.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my GOODNESS guys the KH news we've gotten today!! Not only Dark Road character profiles but that trailer??? 
> 
> **** Spoilers for the KH trailer! ****
> 
> I'm actually super excited for the rhythm game. I know some feel like it's out of place or it reminds them of KH2 Atlantica, but I mean KH has some of the best music in video games and I'm so excited to be able to play through some of the scores. Also, online co-op! What's not to love. ~~Though I admit I could not stop giggling at the shot of Sora casually flying down towards the scene of Xion literally _dying_ in Roxas's arms lol~~.
> 
> **** Spoilers end ****
> 
> That said, I don't want to hear any more info on this new game past this point. But Dark Road? Hit me up with that. I translated the character profiles over on my KH Tumblr [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com) if you're interested since KH NA seems to be slow on the uptake. And Urd is a girl!!! Thank goodness, I was very concerned there for a while.


	21. A Piece of Peace

Out of the waterways at last, you, Skuld, and Chirithy sit down on the fountain wall in silence for a moment to process what you’ve just gone through. It’s been a very long day.

“So…” your Chirithy begins, looking at you. “What’s holding you back from joining the Dandelions? You’d get to see Ephemer again!”

You stare down at your hands. Of course you want to see Ephemer again. More than anything. But there’s a lot about this situation that just doesn’t sit right with you. “Ephemer’s my best friend,” you say, “and he’s important to me. But so is everyone else, and I can’t just abandon them. I can’t accept that this keyblade war will happen no matter what, or that there’s nothing we can do to stop it. What does that say about me if I just give up on everyone else and run off so I can survive for the ‘world after’?”

Chirithy nods. “I understand. Master Ava said you’d have time to think about your decision, too, if you want to change your mind.”

Skuld swings her feet and kicks her heels against the fountain wall. “Can I share a story?” she asks.

“Yeah, of course.”

She fiddles with the hem of her skirt as she begins to speak. “When I became a keyblade wielder, I was so excited. I even made my own party, but no one wanted to join it.” There’s a sad smile on her lips. “Finally, after what seemed like ages, Ephemer joined. For a long time, it was just the two of us.”

“Was that… how long ago was that?”

Skuld thinks for a moment. “It was maybe a bit over a year ago when more people started joining,” she says. 

That might have been around the time you met Ephemer, then. He’d mentioned that he was in a party with a good friend… you’d assumed there were more people in the party than just him and his friend, but according to Skuld’s story, it might have been just the two of them. “I think I met Ephemer not long after that,” you tell Skuld. “He said he was in a party with a good friend.”

That makes Skuld smile a little. “It was nice, while it lasted. But as time passed, others joined us, and we spent all our time gathering as much Lux as possible. With our busy schedules, Ephemer and I spoke less and less, until one day he turned to me and said, ‘Skuld, you’ll be all right on your own now’. And then he left.”

“He never told me that he left his party.” Then again, you’d also never told him that you’d split off from your original party when half the members decided they wanted to be more hardcore about collecting Lux, and you decided that wasn’t how you wanted to spend all your time. Luckily, some of your old party members had agreed with you and you’d formed a second, smaller party which you were still currently in. 

“It was a couple of months ago,” Skuld says, still staring down at her lap. “I continued to collect Lux with my party members, but I guess people started to lose interest. One by one they left, until one day, it was just me again. And you know what? Ephemer was right. I  _ was _ fine on my own. I never forgot about him, though.” Finally, she lifts her gaze to look at you. “And I know he never forgot about me either, because he led me to you. You’ve helped me see so much. So, thank you.”

“Of course,” you say, smiling back at her.

“Now I just have to thank Ephemer, and the only way to do that is to join the Dandelions.” Skuld hops off the fountain and holds her hand out to you. “Thanks. For everything.”

You hop off the fountain wall as well and shake her hand. “Thanks to you too, Skuld. I’m glad we met.”

“Me too.” She rubs at her nose and glances at the pathway away from the fountain. “Well, I think I’ll go home. It’s been a long day.”

You chuckle a little. “Agreed. But um, Skuld?”

“Mm?”

“Do you have time later this week to meet up again? We could meet here after a mission or something. Only if you’re interested, though.”

A smile lights up her face. “Of course! How about the day after tomorrow?”

“It’s a promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skuld has now officially joined us :) I'm excited for you to get to know her! I feel like canon has also left her relationship with Player pretty untapped, even though they seem to develop a good friendship after they meet. ~~And we _still_ haven't seen Skuld again after the war...~~  
> Also, Dark Road huh? I'm not sure about my feelings on the gameplay yet, and I hope they keep updating it. I also _really_ hope they keep the updates in sync with the Japanese version; it'd be a pain to have to maintain two accounts like I do for KHUx. What do you think of Dark Road? Did you get through all the missions? I managed to finish the first episode and uh... wow that ending was sure something. Let me know over on my KH tumblr [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com)!


	22. Working Together

You’re definitely early, you realize as you pull yourself up onto the fountain wall to wait for Skuld. To be honest, you’d rushed through your mission a bit in your eagerness to meet up with your new friend; even Chirithy had commented on it. 

You knead your palms against your knees as you wait, trying to clear your head. It’s been very strange going back to your usual routine after all that you and Skuld had discovered together just mere days ago. You’ve been having some trouble sleeping; there’s just too much to think about at the end of the day. About this impending end of the world, and how your friend is far away somewhere you can’t reach. To join the Dandelions or not to join the Dandelions. What’s to be done if you decide not to join, and what you can do if you  _ do _ join. 

A portal of light opens up mere feet away from you and snaps you out of your self-reflection. A familiar face appears and smiles at you. “You’re here already!” Skuld remarks as she approaches the fountain. “I thought I’d be the first.”

You hop off the wall to stand next to her and have that strange urge to hug her again, but remind yourself that you’ve only known her for a few days. “I finished my mission pretty early,” you say.

“I'm glad you asked to hang out,” she says, raising a hand to her ear to fiddle with the star-shaped stud there as she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. “I've been doing fine on my own for a while now, but it's always good to have friends.”

That makes you smile. “I agree.” You gesture to the path behind her. “So, I was thinking we could walk around the market for a bit and get some food, and then believe it or not the residents in Beast's Castle said I'm welcome to use their kitchen any time, so we could make some dinner with whatever we pick up.”

“Oh! You cook?” 

You wave your hands in front of you to deny the assertion somewhat. “I mean, I cook mostly for myself; I’m hardly a chef. And I always need a recipe to know what I’m doing. But Mrs. Potts is very helpful if we’re not sure how to make something!”

“That’s really cool,” says Skuld. “I never really learned how to cook, personally. But it’d be a great skill to have.”

“It’s never too late to learn!” You motion towards the market and the two of you start to walk. “Is there anything you’d like to eat? It can’t be anything too complicated, I’m afraid, but I’m open to suggestions.”

Skuld takes a moment to think. “Hmm… how about some kind of pasta?”

You mentally run through the list of pastas you know how to cook. “I can make spaghetti?”

“That sounds great! Can we make garlic bread with it?”

Your mouth waters at the thought. “Good idea! Sounds delicious. So, we’ll need some tomatoes, bread, garlic… there’ll be some spices and stuff we can use in the castle kitchen, but we should take most of the ingredients ourselves. There’s a Moogle called Monty who has good vegetables over here.”

You and Skuld walk around to the various market stalls, trading Munny for fresh vegetables and other ingredients. Though you forgot to bring a basket or a bag, Skuld helpfully volunteers her arms to carry everything and the two of you find all your ingredients in good time.

“All right,” you say after stepping out of your portal of light and into the kitchen at Beast’s Castle. “Here we are.” You help unload all of your ingredients from Skuld’s arms onto the countertop and notice that Mrs. Potts has left you a note saying to use anything you like and call if you need help. You’d dropped by earlier in the day to ask for permission to come down here, and it’s kind of her to set aside this area for you. “Thanks for carrying everything. Can you flip through this recipe book and find something for spaghetti? I’ll start getting the pots and utensils out.”

“Got it!”

As soon you’ve got everything rounded up, the two of you work on shaping some meatballs for the sauce. “Try to make them about this size,” you explain, showing a completed meatball to Skuld.

“Like this?” she asks, and you nod. After a few moments of concentration, she turns to look at you. “So, I don’t know if I ever asked, but are you in a party?”

“Oh! Yeah, I am,” you say, shaping another meatball. “It’s different from my original party, though. My old leader wanted to go more hardcore on collecting Lux, so me and a couple other members who wanted to stay casual broke off and formed our own party. I was never really about the competition.”

“Yeah, I can agree with that,” Skuld says. She holds up her recently-completed meatball for you to look at. “It’s too big, isn’t it?” she asks, chuckling a little.

“Might want to split that one into two meatballs,” you agree. “Would you ever think about joining a party again?”

Skuld is quiet for a moment. “Not really,” she says. “I’m just fine on my own, and it was hard work being a party leader. I do miss the friends, though.” She glances sideways at you. “How did you and Ephemer meet, anyway?”

“It’s… kind of a long story. I was out on a mission at the park in Daybreak Town over by the water, and Ephemer was having some trouble with an Invisible in the same area. I guess you could say he roped me in pretty quick with his ideas of finding out more about the motivation behind the Unions and what was in the Book of Prophecies.” You place another meatball on the tray. 

“He used to always say he was booked up for the evenings.” Skuld smiles to herself. “He’d give me all sorts of tall tales about why he couldn’t make some of the raid hours until I finally got him to admit that he’d been spending time with a friend. He spoke very highly of you.”

Your face grows warm at the praise. “He's a really good friend. I didn't realize I was cutting into so many of your party activities though! Maybe he didn't tell me so I wouldn't feel guilty…” You pause from rolling your meatball for a moment. “Though, come to think of it, I didn't really tell him about my party breaking up, either.”

“There’s no need to apologize or anything,” Skuld says, gathering up the last of the meat mixture in her hand to shape. You run some water in the sink to wash up. “Maybe once all this stuff with the Unions is over all three of us can hang out together.” She puts the final meatball on the tray and you carry it over to the oven.

“I’m still not sure how I feel about that whole Dandelion thing, and the ‘end of the world’,” you say, handing Skuld an onion to cut up while you ready a pot for the sauce.

“Did you think about it more?”

“About joining? Honestly I think I’ve been thinking about it  _ too _ much,” you say. “It’s been keeping me up at night.”

“Well, maybe talking about it will help! I know I’m not exactly unbiased, but I’ll do my best to listen.” Unexpectedly, you hear Skuld sniffle and turn to see her squeezing her eyes shut. “Sorry,” she says when she catches you looking, then chuckles. “Chopping these onions up is making my eyes sting.”

“Oh, I’m sorry! I’ll trade you jobs if you like.”

She shakes her head and rubs at her eyes with the back of her wrist. “No, no, it’s a learning experience. So, you were saying?”

“Well, my first thought when Master Ava asked me to join was that I really wanted to see Ephemer again. But when she said that people who aren’t in the Dandelions will have to fight in the Keyblade War, it just didn’t sit right with me. And then there’s the way she talked about the war, too, as though there was simply nothing that could be done to stop it. But how can she know that? Even if it seems inevitable, isn’t it still important to try to prevent it?”

“There’s a lot the foretellers don’t tell us,” Skuld agrees. She shows you her cutting board, where she’s finished chopping up the onion, and you motion for her to add it to your pot. “What do you need me to do now?”

You glance at the recipe, then point to one of the drawers on the other side of the stove. “If you get a pot from there, we can fill it with water and start making the pasta while I work on the sauce.”

“So if you don’t join,” Skuld says over the sound of running water as she fills the pot, “what do you think you’ll do?”

“Try to prevent this Keyblade War, I guess,” you say, stirring the onion you’re simmering. “I’d like to see if I can request an audience with my Union leader, Master Invi. Chirithy might know something about that. I want to know what makes them so sure something is going to happen.”

“And if they don’t tell you anything?” Skuld brings her pot over to the stovetop and you help her turn on a burner to heat it up.

“Then I’m back to where I started.” It’s hard to explain this feeling you have that joining the Dandelions would be like running away from your problems instead of trying to fix them. And you don’t want to hurt Skuld’s feelings by accidentally implying anything about her, since she’s already agreed to join them. “I think it’s important to have the Dandelions,” you begin, “just in case things don’t work out. But it feels to me like the foretellers are just giving up on everyone else by saying the Keyblade War is inevitable, and that the only way we’ll have a world to live in after the war is by sending their specially-picked wielders away from the conflict. Shouldn’t we be trying to save as many people as possible?”

“I think so too,” Skuld agrees. “I just wonder if the only way to save people is through something like the Dandelions. And if we can’t prevent the war, then I think it’s important to get as many people to join as possible.”

“Hmm,” you muse as you add the rest of your sauce ingredients to the pot. “You have a good point. I guess it really all depends on whether or not this war is inevitable. I don’t think any one event can be so set in stone, so my goal is to prevent it from happening in the first place. But if you accept the war as something that will happen regardless, then it makes sense to protect as many people from the aftermath as possible.”

You’re both quiet for a while as you stir your spaghetti sauce and Skuld waits for her pot of water to boil. The mood seems a little gloomy from all the serious talk.

“Smells good,” Skuld says, watching you check the meatballs in the oven. 

“Just a little longer. The sauce will simmer for a bit, and then we’ll add the meatballs and can eat.” You look over at Skuld’s pot of water, which is beginning to boil. “You can probably add the pasta to that. Oh, and we need to make the garlic bread with that loaf we bought.”

“This is the first time I’ve made spaghetti from scratch,” she says as she dumps the pasta into the water. “Maybe I should try cooking more often.”

“We could turn it into a habit, if you want. Get together and cook some food.”

Skuld’s face lights up. “That sounds great, actually, if you wouldn’t mind!” 

“Of course!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's so nice to finally get to write Skuld outside of the "canon" scenes. I think she's been a little lonely ever since Ephemer left her party too so it's good for her and Player to get a chance to talk.
> 
> Can't believe it's nearly July! I hope everyone is making it through the summer months all right. Maybe we'll finally get a Union Cross update on the main story again for this month?
> 
> As always, you're welcome to drop by my KH tumblr and chat [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com) :)


	23. Chain of Memories

_Taste, what a bittersweet_.

“You know, Skuld,” you say as you finish scraping the peel off the potato you’re holding and hand it to your friend, “you’ve known Ephemer longer than I have. Do you have any fun stories about him?”

Skuld stops cutting up the vegetables for a moment and raises an eyebrow at you. “‘Fun stories’? You mean embarrassing stuff?”

“Well no, not exactly.” You return to peeling your potatoes. “I guess I was just wondering if you’d had any adventures together since you were in the same party and all.”

A wistful smile appears on Skuld’s lips. “Well, most things are an adventure when you have Ephemer along.” 

Her words bring a smile to your face as well. “He does get himself into all kinds of trouble.” You gesture to the pile of vegetables Skuld has diligently cut up for your potato soup. “I bet he’d be a disaster in the kitchen.”

Skuld laughs. “You know, I never did see him make any food for himself. You think he just mooches off of other people’s food all the time?”

“That, or maybe he only ever eats ice cream…” you reply, your mind wandering to all the sunsets you’d shared at the lighthouse.

“Huh yeah, I haven’t had ice cream in ages,” Skuld chimes in. She gestures to the potato you’re still holding onto. “Done with that?”

“Oh, just a second.” You finish peeling it and hand it over, then wash your hands off before heading to the stove. There’s a small lull in the conversation as you think about your next words. “We could get ice cream together after our next mission, if you want.”

“That sounds lovely!” Her smile lights up her face, but it falls a little when she glances over at you. Her eyes study yours and you turn away from her gaze towards the stove. “You okay?”

“It’s… nothing.” You grab a frying pan from the drawer and turn on one of the burners, tapping a finger on the handle as you wait for it to heat up. You can feel Skuld’s eyes on you, but she waits for you to speak. Your shoulders sagging, you turn back to look at her. “It’s just… something Ephemer and I used to do after missions. Get ice cream together, that is.” You gesture with your hands as you try to explain. “I know he’s not really gone, not exactly. It’s probably silly to put so much importance on one specific food, you know?” 

Skuld sets her knife back down on the cutting board and takes a few steps over to you, a kind smile on her face. “Hey, I get it. Don’t worry about the ice cream, then! You can keep that for Ephemer when you two meet up again.”

You shake your head and turn around, reaching for the onions you’d cut up earlier to add them to your pan. “No, we should get it. And then, when we meet up, the three of us can catch up and have ice cream together.” You offer Skuld a smile. “He’s your friend as much as he is mine. And it’s good to start new traditions.”

She returns the smile. “If you’re sure!”

You nod. “I am. Pass me the veggies you’re done cutting up?”

She obliges and you add the vegetables to a large pot along with broth you’d prepared earlier. As soon as your onions are soft enough, you add those too, then pass your stirring spoon to Skuld so you can go to the sink and clean up some of the dirty dishes.

“This kitchen has so many things I’d never have thought of getting for my own place,” Skuld says, gesturing to the potato peeler you’re washing. “I always just used a knife, but that looks much more practical.”

Your cheeks grow warm. “Actually, I specifically bought this a while ago because I’m really bad at using a knife to peel vegetables.” You glance down at your hands. “I kept cutting my thumb when I was trying to make mashed potatoes.”

Skuld lets out a laugh. “It’s a good solution! I didn’t even know a tool like that existed.”

After finishing the dishes, you dry your hands off and sit on a stool at the counter across from Skuld while you wait for the soup to cook. The recipe book lies open in front of you, so you thumb through some of the pages, looking for new recipes to try for next time.

“Maybe we should plan to have some sort of big celebration meal once we’re all together again,” Skuld muses as she stirs the potato soup.

Her comment catches you by surprise, and you pause in flipping through the recipe book. “Yeah, that could be nice.” You glance around at the large kitchen. “There’s certainly enough room for us here. Though I’m not sure I’d want Ephemer in the kitchen, exactly.”

Skuld twirls her wooden stirring spoon between her fingers. “I’d like to think that three of us working together would be faster than just you and me, but well, it’s  _ Ephemer _ .”

You chuckle a little, thinking of your comments from earlier. “Here we are making fun of Ephemer’s lack of cooking skills when he might actually be pretty good at it.”

Skuld raises an eyebrow. “With his time management skills? I can almost smell something burning already.”

You put an elbow on the counter and prop your chin up with your hand. “Hmm… maybe he could make a really good salad?”

“And you’d trust him with a knife to cut up vegetables?” She tries to pull off a concerned face but the corners of her mouth twitch upwards.

Now you know she’s just teasing. “We’ll put him in charge of drinks. Or maybe cleanup. So we can sit back after all our hard work!”

“Ooh, I do like the sound of that.” Skuld gives the pot another stir, then glances back at you. “How long do I simmer it for?”

“Uh…” You rifle through the recipe book again to get back to the one for potato soup. “Try poking the potatoes with a fork to see if they’re soft enough.” You lean over the countertop to open the utensils drawer and fish out a fork to hand to Skuld.

“I think it’s ready!” she declares after checking the potatoes. “I’m hungry!”

The soup does smell quite good. You search for a ladle while Skuld gets the soup bowls. “Thanks for all your help,” you say.

“Of course! I’d never be able to make this sort of food on my own; I’m not sure I’d know where to start. I really look forward to our dinner nights.”

That makes you smile. “I look forward to them, too. I’m glad we met, Skuld.”

“It’s hard to resist good food and good company,” she says. “I’m glad we met, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aand if you couldn't tell, we're totally back to fluff for a bit ;) There's something that's really nice about writing a burgeoning friendship!  
> As usual, feel free to drop by my KH Tumblr to chat~ [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com)


	24. Distant from You

_ Thinking of you, wherever you are _

“Hey, Chirithy?” you call quietly from your bed. In an instant your fuzzy companion is at your side. “I think I need you to go tell Skuld I can’t make it to the fountain today.”

“Still not feeling any better?” Chirithy’s ears droop as they look worriedly up at you.

You shake your head. “I’m afraid not. I’m sure if I just rest this fever will go away by tomorrow, but I probably shouldn’t be going anywhere like this.”

“Okay. You’ll be alright on your own for a while?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Maybe I’ll try taking another nap.” You roll onto your side. “You don’t have to tell Skuld I’m sick or anything; I don’t want her to worry. I just don’t want to leave her waiting at the fountain for me.”

Chirithy seems conflicted. “I don’t know… you haven’t eaten much today. Are you sure you’re okay on your own?”

You muster up a smile. “ _ Yes,  _ I’m fine. Please go tell her I can’t come?”

With a tiny sigh, Chirithy nods and disappears into a cloud of white. 

* * *

A familiar  _ poof _ later and your Chirithy is sitting again by your windowsill. “Hey there, champ,” they say brightly. “How are you doing?”

You give a small smile. “Oh, no better or worse than before,” you say. “You were gone longer than I thought. Did you let Skuld know I can’t make it?”

Unexpectedly, there’s a light knock at your bedroom door. You glance at Chirithy, who nods at you. “...Come in…?”

“I hear someone’s not feeling so good.”

“Skuld!” Delight at seeing your friend almost makes you forget about your throbbing headache and aching muscles.

Skuld crosses the room and sets something down on the table beside your bed, taking up residence on the chair next to you. “I brought you something to eat,” she says. “I hope it turned out okay; turns out I’m still not that great in the kitchen without you giving directions.” She lets out a small chuckle.

You sit up against your headboard and pick up the mug she brought, bringing it up to your nose to inspect it. “It’s… soup?” Smells like chicken and vegetables.

“Skuld made it all on her own!” Chirithy chimes in proudly.

Flushing pink, Skuld waves her hands in front of her to dismiss the claim. “Mrs. Potts helped too! I don’t know what I would have done without her.” She turns to smile at Chirithy. “And I wouldn’t have been able to do it without Chirithy’s encouragement!” 

Chirithy’s eyes crease happily at the praise, and you give them a pat on the head with your free hand. “You two are really sweet; thank you so much,” you say, blowing gently on the mug of soup before taking a sip. It’s… perhaps a bit too peppery, but tasty nonetheless. “It’s good!” You meet Skuld’s gaze and smile. “Just what I needed.”

“You’ll have to teach me how to make it even better, next time!” She reaches into her bag beside her on the chair and pulls out several paperback books. “I also borrowed some of these from the library. It’s probably really boring sitting around when you’re sick, right? I thought you might need some entertainment.”

It’s true you’ve only really been able to sit around in bed hoping for your fever to go away. You haven’t had much of an appetite, nor the energy to get up and prepare a meal for yourself, so the day had passed by very slowly indeed. You take another slow sip of your soup, trying to come up with words. “This is so thoughtful of you Skuld… thank you again.”

She looks shyly down at her lap and tugs at the bottom of her skirt. “You’ve done a lot for me,” she explains. “I’m happy to do things for you, too.”

You take another sip of your soup. “So, what did you get up to today?”

“I was sent to Agrabah, actually. There was some new Heartless type that was showing up in the city, so I went to take a look. You’ve seen pot spider Heartless before, right? This one was like… a bunch of them all stuck together to make a really long chain.” She gestures with her hands to illustrate her point. “And it was  _ big! _ It would have filled this whole room. Like one giant centipede.” A shiver runs over her and she shakes her head. “I don’t like bugs,” she says.

“Was there anyone else to help?” you ask. “Sounds like it would have been tough.”

Skuld’s mood seems to drop. “Well, there was another wielder at the guard office when I was there asking about the new Heartless. I asked if he wanted to team up to find it and he asked me what Union I’m in, which seemed strange, so I said it shouldn’t matter what Union I belong to since we’re both gathering Lux. But then he got upset that I wouldn’t tell him and left to find it on his own. So I went off on my own, too.” She scratches at the back of her ear.

“But that doesn’t make any sense!” Chirithy pipes up. “We’re supposed to help each other out.”

“Seems like it’s been bothering you,” you add, studying your friend’s expression. 

“You’re right,” she says with a sigh. “With this supposed end of the world that’s coming, we should be working together more, not getting upset over petty Union disputes.” Getting up and walking over to your window, she adds in a quieter voice, “I wish I knew if I was making the right decision.”

You run your thumb over the mug handle, thinking. “I don’t know if there  _ is _ a right decision, Skuld. Maybe the only thing we can do is pick a path forward and hope things turn out alright in the end.”

“It just doesn’t feel good enough!” She turns around and leans back against the wall, bringing a hand to her face. “We don’t know what’s going on with the Foretellers, we’re not supposed to talk about the world ending, and we’re supposed to just… just wait for everything to happen?” There’s pain and frustration behind her brown eyes as she looks up at you. “I wish… I wish Ephemer were still here.”

In the moment of quiet that follows, Chirithy takes a few steps to curl up beside you and you pat their head affectionately. “It always felt like he had all the answers, huh?” you say softly.

Skuld lets out her breath all at once, like she’s trying to dismiss some of the tension from her body. “Yeah. Maybe it’s time I did some digging for answers on my own.” She looks up at you with an apologetic expression. “Look at me, dumping all this on you when you’re sick. We can always talk more when you’re better!”

“Aw, I don’t mind,” you say, setting your now-empty mug back on the bedside table. “What are friends for? Besides, you made me this lovely soup. I’ve gotta repay you somehow.”

Skuld shakes her head at you. “You're too nice for your own good, you know that?” She collects your mug from the table and turns to Chirithy. “Keep an eye on them, okay? I'm going to go clean up.” 

“Got it!” Chirithy says, snuggling up to you again once Skuld has left the room. It feels nice having your friends take care of you. 

You settle back under the covers and pick up one of the books Skuld left you, but you're only a few pages in before you start to feel drowsy. “Wake me up when Skuld comes back,” you tell Chirithy, who murmurs an agreement. But when you wake up next, it's to find your room basking in morning sunlight, a get-well-soon card propped open on your nightstand, and your fever gone as though it had never been there at all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't have much to report on this chapter except that I hope everyone's doing well and staying safe :) Feel free to come visit me on my KH Tumblr [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com)!


	25. Fate of the Unknown

"Two sea-salt ice cream bars please." 

The Moogle at the counter looks at you curiously. "I haven't seen you or your friend around here for a while, kupo," they say, turning to produce the requested ice cream bars. "I thought maybe you didn't like my ice cream anymore, kupo!" 

You offer a strained smile as you hand over the munny and take your purchase. "I haven't seen him around for a while, either," you say quietly. Then, louder, "Thank you for the ice cream!" You push open the door out of the shop to the fountain plaza. 

"Oh! I thought I'd arrived first," Skuld says as you approach, hopping off the fountain wall. She gestures back at the Moogle shop. "What'd you get?" 

You smile at her, this one a real smile. "Sea-salt ice cream!" you say, handing her a bar. "I wasn't sure if you'd had this flavour before." 

Skuld tears the packaging off and gives it an experimental lick. "No, I don't think I have," she says, looking at it curiously. "It's so blue!" 

You laugh. "The first thing I'd noticed was that it was salty." 

She nods. "It's good though! If a bit unusual."

"Ephemer introduced it to me," you explain, taking a bite of your own ice cream. "We got it so often it became a sort of tradition. But it's good to start new traditions, too." 

You'd thought about this a lot. On one hand, you worried that letting go of your exclusive sea salt ice cream habit would feel like you're betraying Ephemer in some way, like you don’t believe he’ll come back. On the other hand, a life where you prevent yourself from partaking in things you enjoy or from making new friends and memories would be empty and miserable. 

Skuld's gaze is searching for a few moments over your face, and then she smiles. "You're right. He'll just have a lot of new traditions to catch up on when he's back!" She takes another bite of her ice cream and gestures to the town. "Do you want to go anywhere?" 

You pause to think for a moment. "Want to walk over by the clock tower?" you ask. "There's a nice little pond there that often has ducks in it." You'd walked around it many times while investigating the clock tower. 

"Oh, I know the one you're talking about. Across the bridge, right? Sounds good to me." 

It's a pleasantly warm summer day – not so hot that you're sweating as you walk and not so cool that eating the ice cream gives you the chills. Many other keyblade wielders walk the streets, but they seem to avoid looking at the two of you, and no one stops to smile or say hello. One wielder even outright glares at you as you pass. With each encounter Skuld's mood seems to drop a little more. 

"There's a lot of tension between the Unions lately, huh," you say after passing another sullen wielder. 

Skuld sighs. "It's getting harder to convince people to join the Dandelions, too. You'd think they'd realize something is up and want to join, but a lot of people think I'm just trying to recruit for Vulpes since Master Ava is the leader, or else that we're trying to make some superior Union to defeat all the other ones."

"That reminds me," you say, glancing sideways at her, "I tried to get an audience with Master Invi the other day." 

"You did? How'd it go?" 

You shake your head as the two of you head down a set of stairs that lead towards the water. "Didn't get to see her. Chirithy told me the Masters are rarely at the tower anymore and haven't spoken with anyone inside their Unions, let alone outside of them. I dunno, Skuld. It gives me a bad feeling." 

Skuld is silent for a while as you walk down the winding gravel path to the pond, taking small bites of your ice cream as you go. "I hate seeing everyone so upset," she says. "Some of the Dandelions are even arguing amongst themselves. It doesn't help that no one's seen Master Ava for some time now."

"Really? I thought she'd at least be around for the Dandelions. Do you know where she’s gone?”

“No,” she says, pressing her lips together. “She gave that speech in the fountain plaza a while ago, and that was around the last time anyone saw her. I’ve been hearing more rumours about the other foretellers too, though, like you said. Do you think they’re fighting?”

The thought is unsettling. “I hope not,” you say. “But I can’t help but wonder if it’s true. The competition is just getting worse between everyone.”

The path widens out and slopes down into a tiny pond filled with reeds and some happily floating ducks. At least the sight is peaceful. You and Skuld meander over to a patch of grass and sit down, stretching your legs out to enjoy the warm sunlight and the last bites of your ice cream.

“Do you think…” Skuld begins tentatively, waving her empty ice cream stick between her thumb and forefinger, “...do you think that this is what they meant when they said the war was inevitable? Is that what’s going on? I can’t help but think so with all that’s been happening.”

You pull at some of the grass beside you, twisting and spinning it between your fingers. “It does kind of seem that way. But, Skuld, what if all this is only happening  _ because _ everyone thinks there will be a war? What if people are getting upset because they think time is limited, or they think other people are going to be opposite them in the war, so it makes them more on edge?”

Skuld tucks her legs to her side and leans back on one hand, looking over at you with her eyebrows pushed low over her eyes. “But… does it matter why? If it’s supposed to happen, if it’s fated, then a new reason would come up to fight over, or a different chain of events would just lead us back to the same result.”

You shake your head. You’re not quite sure why you dislike the idea of everything being ‘fated’ so much, except that it feels like if that’s the case then what’s the point of doing anything at all? If everything moves inexorably towards the same future, then what kind of free choice do you even have in that situation? “I don’t think so,” you say. “I feel like if everyone wasn’t thinking about it, if we’d never been told there was some fated war coming, then we’d have made different decisions and arrived somewhere different. And, even  _ if _ this war is somehow unavoidable, it sure doesn’t feel like we’re doing everything we can to stop it. Why even have Unions? It just creates separation between everyone as we fight over Lux. If we really wanted to prevent the war, we should have worked harder to work together. We should have stopped caring about Unions and worked harder to build bonds between each other regardless of where we’re from. And yet here we are just… just fighting over who gets the most Lux, or where our Union is in the rankings, or over who’s joined the Dandelions and I can’t stand it.”

The words come out of you in a big rush and you take a deep breath when you’re finished and let it out in a long gust. It’s been weighing on you for some time now and it feels good to put it into words.

Skuld stares off at the pond, watching some of the ducks ruffle their feathers and dive underwater for food. “I think you’re right about the Union competition exacerbating the tension between everyone. But,” she says, and looks over at you with one eyebrow raised, “it also sounds like you’re putting a lot of blame on yourself for not doing enough.”

You glance over at her in surprise, a bit taken aback at her words. “I…” you begin, not quite sure what to say. “Yeah, maybe. I mean, we were told about this whole war thing a few months ago. I don’t know if I can say I’ve really made a difference in that time. Most of my party has decided to join the Dandelions, and I’m grateful for that, but I feel like there’s still so much fighting. People don’t want to hear about getting along with other Unions; they want to hear how their Union is doing better than everyone else’s. I’ve lost a lot of friends trying to push for more collaboration and cross-Union friendships. What if it’s all for nothing?”

Skuld puts a hand on your shoulder. “I think the effort you put in is the important part. Sometimes people just aren’t receptive to that kind of thing, or they need more time, or any number of things. And I think what you’ve been trying to do  _ has _ made a difference, it’s just maybe not as big or noticeable as you’d like.”

You smile at your friend. “Thanks, Skuld. That helps.” You knead your palms against your thighs and then flop back against the grass, squinting up at the sunlit sky. Skuld does the same, her hair fanning out around her like a dark curtain. “I’m glad you’re my friend,” you say, closing your eyes to feel the sunlight on your face.

You feel a touch on your wrist and open your eyes again to see Skuld put her hand in yours and give your fingers a small squeeze. “I’m glad you’re my friend, too,” she says. “You’ve made going through this a lot easier. But… I did also want to ask. Have you thought any more about joining the Dandelions? I’d just hate for you to get hurt if things don’t pan out the way you were hoping.”

You squeeze her hand back and close your eyes again, feeling the warmth from the sun on your cheeks and the tickle of the grass against your bare arms. “I’ve thought about it,” you say slowly. “I’m not… not quite decided. I think I’ve got it a bit in my head that joining the Dandelions means I’m giving up on trying to stop the war altogether, though that’s not quite true. It feels a bit… selfish, maybe? to use it as a backup plan of sorts. Like I’m trying to convince everyone to stay and help repair a sinking ship when I’ve got my own life raft waiting for me in case things go wrong. Feels almost hypocritical. Maybe I should be trying to convince everyone else to get in the life rafts, too.”

Skuld’s quiet for a while, the only sound the splish-splash of water from the ducks and the distant sounds of footsteps from the keyblade wielders crossing the bridge not too far away. “I don’t think it’s selfish,” she says after some time. “I think what you’re doing is really noble. But I do wonder if the situation has changed enough that the life rafts might be the best option.”

Maybe part of the reason you’re so reluctant to join also stems from the fact that joining the Dandelions and deciding the best option is to convince other people to join as well seems to also mean you’ve failed in your original goal to prevent the war altogether. And if you  _ have  _ failed in that goal, then it means a war is coming and people you care about, wielders you fought alongside, people you knew, are going to fight in this war. And that there isn’t anything you can do to stop it.

You let out a sigh. “You’re right, Skuld. I.. think I need to sit on it a little bit longer. Maybe talk it over with my Chirithy.” You open your eyes and turn your head to face your friend. “But I’ll let you know what I decide.”

Skuld turns too and nods at you. “Okay. Do you want to meet up at the fountain again tomorrow? There was something I was thinking we could do together.”

“I’d like that.”

* * *

“Hey, Chirithy,” you ask your companion, who’s sitting on the windowsill like always as you prepare for bed. “What will happen to you if I, you know, if I disappear?” Chirithy’s ears droop and you already know the answer. “You’ll… disappear, too, won’t you?”

Chirithy nods. “All Chirithies are connected with their wielders. If they disappear, we go too.”

You sit on the edge of your bed, one hand fiddling absent-mindedly with the crystal at your throat. “So what do you think I should do, then? If the war comes? Should I join the Dandelions?”

Chirithy’s expression is unreadable. “I think you should do what you think is best,” they say. “But… I don’t want you to get hurt.”

You nod slowly. It isn’t as though your plan is to just participate in the keyblade war, but there’s not a lot you can do here if you escape with the Dandelions. Though, if this war does indeed end the world, destroy the light, then your odds of making it out alive don’t seem so good. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I think the idea of "fate" in Kingdom Hearts is quite tricky. We've got time travel, we've got a Book of Prophecies, we've got data worlds and projected future worlds and sleeping worlds. But I can't help but feel like the events in Back Cover only happen because of the MoM's fanciful manipulation of everyone behind the scenes rather than events that were simply destined to pass, and I think that's part of what makes the Keyblade war so interesting -- did it have to happen? How much was because of fate, and how much was because people _believed_ in fate?
> 
> Anyway, food for thought~ Feel free to come speculate over on my KH Tumblr [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com)!


	26. Friends in my Heart

“I’m not really sure I’m doing this right,” you say to Skuld as you spread the paste over her cheeks.

“Ah, it’s just a face mask; we’re washing it off later anyway,” she replies cheerfully.

“No, wait, you’re not allowed to move your face so much,” you say with a laugh as you try to redistribute the paste over her cheeks from where it gathered in the creases as she spoke. You can’t help but chuckle at how silly she looks with the mixture covering her face save for her eyes and mouth. She’s got her hair pulled back into a ponytail with her fringe safely pinned up and away from her forehead while you apply the face mask. You draw back to inspect your handiwork. “Hmm, I think that’s how it’s supposed to go. Right?”

Skuld raises a finger to touch her cheek. “I think it’s covering most of my face… that’s probably good. It’s kind of itchy as it’s drying.” She sits up from your sofa and nods to you. “Okay, your turn then.”

A little hesitantly, you trade places with her and make sure your hair is off your face. She hums softly as she spreads the fask mask over your skin, and the mixture is a little cool to the touch. “So what do we do after this?” you ask.

“We have to let it dry first, so it works its way into our skin. And then you wash it off and it should leave your skin feeling nice and fresh.” You close your eyes as she paints a little more of the mixture around your eyebrow. “There. Okay, take these.”

You open your eyes and she hands you two cucumber slices. You frown at them but go to take a bite of one of the slices before Skuld swats at your hand. “No, no, you’re supposed to put them over your eyes,” she says, laughing.

“Oh.” You laugh too, a little embarrassed. Skuld settles onto the other end of the sofa and the two of you sort of pile your legs on top of one another before relaxing against the armrest.

Skuld lets out a satisfied “ahh” as she sinks down into the cushions. “Feels like it’s been ages since I was just able to relax like this after a mission,” she says.

“Me too,” you agree, copying how she put the cucumber slices over her eyes. They feel as though they’re going to slide off so you adjust your position a little so they lie more flat. 

“You know what else I need?” Skuld says, and you make a little “mm” of acknowledgement so she continues, “A nice warm bath. Preferably in a really, really big bathtub.”

You smile a little at the thought. “Maybe we could request mandatory relaxation days, you know, to balance out all the hard work we do out on missions.”

“I’d certainly feel a lot more excited about doing my missions if I knew there would be a spa day at the end of it.”

“I think it’d lose its appeal if we had ‘spa days’ too frequently, though. It’s probably best as a treat after a long time working hard.”

Skuld is quiet as she considers this. “You’re probably right. It’s always unfortunate when something you love becomes mundane because you do it so often. Like how you get tired of eating the same thing day in and day out, even if it’s your favourite meal. Or how you can start taking for granted things that happen all the time, like waking up with the sun shining on your face, or sharing a meal with a friend. I wish there was a way to make every experience feel like the first time you’d done it. So we wouldn’t take them for granted.”

“Well, I’d like that for the good experiences,” you say. “But I think it’s good that we grow accustomed to some things. Like getting used to wielding a keyblade, or talking to new people. If that was the same as the first time I’d done it I’d be a lot more nervous.”

“That’s true,” she says, and you feel her shift on the sofa so you remove one of your cucumber slices to see her looking over at you. “I always wonder what kinds of things I’d miss if I suddenly didn’t have them anymore. Like, would I miss having to do missions every day? I feel like I’m a bit tired of them now, but if I didn’t have missions, maybe I’d miss the structure, or the people I meet on missions, or any number of other things I couldn’t even think of unless it was missing.”

“I think you have some idea of what you’ll miss if something goes away,” you say, your mind drifting to Ephemer and the lighthouse. You put the cucumber slice back over your eye. “But maybe it’s good not to be so aware of losing things that it makes you too cautious. Like, if you’re always afraid of losing a friendship it might make you a worse friend because you’ll be anxious about every interaction. So I think you should work to reduce those anxieties – talking with your friends, for example – but it’s good to remember that it’s normal for things to change.”

Skuld chuckles softly. “You’re right, of course. And I think it's healthy to miss things sometimes, too, so long as it doesn't prevent you from making new experiences. Like, when everyone left my party and I was on my own again, I really missed all the people and the things we used to do together as a party. But I discovered that I like being on my own, too. So there's something to be said for losing a situation you enjoyed, because it might be to prepare you for a better situation later."

You prod at her leg playfully. " _ Now  _ look who's getting all philosophical," you tease. It's nice being able to have conversations like this, though. And, after all, if Ephemer hadn't left you might not have ever met Skuld. So even though him leaving hurts and you miss him, there are good things that came out of it too. And for that, you're grateful.

The two of you lie there letting the masks dry for another several minutes before you speak again.

"Has it been long enough to wash the masks off?" you ask Skuld, reaching a hand up to feel if it’s dried. 

She nods. "Yeah, probably. We should wash it off at the sink."

The two of you sit up from the sofa and grin at how silly you look with the masks on, then take turns at the sink to wash up. You think you got some of the mask in your hair, too, but Skuld says it’s not a big deal and it’ll wash out easily. Your skin feels fresh and clean when you pat it dry.

Skuld fluffs up her fringe and lets it fall back over her face, handing back the washcloth you lent her. She smiles at you. “Look at you – your skin is practically glowing.”

You return the smile. “This was a good idea. Thanks for bringing the masks.”

“Thanks for trying it with me! I think we both needed the break.” She looks out the window at the darkening streets of Daybreak Town. “I should probably head home. But, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“You know it!”

* * *

You turn over in bed again, trying to rid yourself of the nervous energy building up in your chest. Your Chirithy hops over from the windowsill to settle next to you, concern creasing their face. “Is something wrong?” they ask, touching a paw to your arm.

You knot your hands in the top cover. “Do you think I’m replacing Ephemer?” you ask abruptly.

Chirithy startles, their fur standing on end for a moment before settling back down. “Replacing him with who?” they ask.

You wrap your arms around your knees, drawing them up to your chest. “With you. With Skuld. With some of the new wielders I’ve done those last few missions with. Sometimes I worry… I worry that I’m losing my connection with Ephemer. That I’m letting other people replace the things we used to do together. I know he’s not  _ really _ gone, so I should be able to see him again someday and yet… I don’t think it’ll be the same when he comes back.”

Chirithy’s ears twitch and they tilt their head to look at you. “Does it need to be the same?”

You frown. “Well, no, I guess it doesn’t have to be the  _ exact _ same, but… what if we’re too different when we see each other again? It wouldn't be like this if I could write to him, or talk to him sometimes, but it’s been months, Chirithy. I miss him but I don’t… I don’t think about him as much as I used to. I do other things after missions, and I have other friends that I talk to and hang out with. What if he comes back expecting things to be the same and it can’t be like that anymore?”

“Well…” Chirithy begins, “I think if you’re meant to be friends then you’ll reconnect again. Your friends are always in your heart, even if they’re far away. And even if you change, you can grow together, not apart."

Chirithy has a point. It seems silly to be stressing out over this as much as you have. It's just that you've been noticing that you don't think of Ephemer as much as you used to. You used to think of him after every mission, every time you walked by the fountain, every time you watched the sun set, every time you passed up buying sea salt ice cream at the Moogle shop. But now you don't think of him as often. He comes to mind in the quiet times, when you're considering the future and what's to come. But he's been gone for so long he's no longer part of your daily routine. You don't  _ want  _ to forget, but you can't live in the past, either. The two of you will probably never be able to go back to your old routine, just like you can never return to the calm before the storm. But you can make new memories when you meet again. And it's all right to enjoy this time without him, to forge new routines and friendships. 

You pat Chirithy gently between the ears. "Thanks, Chirithy. I'm glad I have you around." 

They beam back at you, eyes creased happily. If there's one thing you can count on through all of this, it's Chirithy. You're lucky to have such a good friend. You settle back down under the covers, ready to let sleep take you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you might be able to tell by the chapter numbers, we're getting very close to the end of the canon-following chapters! The next two chapters are also rather long, like, 6-7k apiece. I did make this a series though because I actually have like another 60k worth of Skuld & Player & Ephemer adventures, though they're not as canon-compliant or as chronological so I figure I'll put them in a separate work once Sound of the Sunset is completely posted.  
>   
> When I started writing this around a year and a half ago I kind of thought they'd have enough of the KHUx story done by the time I wrote up to the Keyblade War that I could integrate my post-war friendshippy scenes into canon but, well, instead we're still on the same 'day' when Player and Ephemer reunite (no really -- the last two years' or so worth of updates have all canonically taken place on approximately the same in-universe 'day' while Player explores the Wreck-it Ralph world, with a couple of flashbacks). And the way things are going it looks like this might really be the final "day" for the keykids so future friendship development in this series sort of exists in a time vacuum, you could say :P I mean, if canon won't give me a scene of Player and Skuld being reunited and I gotta do it myself, then so be it, right?  
>   
> Anyway, thanks a lot for reading this fic, and I hope you enjoy these last few chapters! I'll give more information on the next installment once we get there~ You're also welcome to come chat with me on my KH Tumblr [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com)!


	27. Fight and Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very small content warning for mention of blood.

You head to the fountain plaza to meet up with Skuld. Today the two of you were thinking you'll just go on a walk around Daybreak Town. As you come down the stairs, the raised voices of two keyblade wielders standing by the fountain catch your attention.

Chirithy, still by your side, sighs. “Not again…” You grimace and continue down the stairs so Chirithy walks in front of you, forcing you to slow down. “Don’t get involved,” they plead. “I know it’s frustrating, but you can’t fix everything.”

“I know,” you say, crouching down to pat Chirithy on the head, “I just hate seeing it. Aren’t we all working towards the same goal?”

Chirithy shrugs helplessly. “Everyone seems to have a bone to pick.”

You straighten up and look over at the wielders, still yelling at each other. “I just hope it doesn’t get any worse.”

Just as you finish your sentence, the wielders summon their keyblades. You gasp and summon your own weapon, rushing over to stand between them, Chirithy calling after you in alarm.

“What is wrong with you?” you demand angrily, standing with your back to the fountain to keep each wielder in view. “We’re all on the same side!”

The blond wielder to your left glares angrily at his opponent. “Are we?” he snarls. “Then why did they steal our Lux?”

The other boy swings his keyblade and you brandish your own in a warning for him not to move any closer. “What are you talking about?” the boy calls, venom in his voice. “We’re just trying to protect the light. I’ll bet good munny that it’s your Union that’s fallen to darkness. Traitors!”

While you were occupied with trying to keep the brown-haired boy from darting past you, the blond has crept up closer. “Hey, back off–” you say, but he isn’t listening.

“What did you say?!” he shouts at the other boy. “How can you prove  _ you’re _ not the traitor?!”

“Hold on! We’re all on the same side!” your Chirithy calls a few paces away, but the wielders aren’t listening to either of you. It’s the best you can do to just stand in between them, hoping that their lust for battle doesn’t extend to fighting bystanders. 

“Mind your own business!” says the boy on your right, glaring angrily at your Chirithy before turning back to his opponent. 

“Stop it!” a familiar voice yells, and you turn to look.

“Skuld!” you call, relieved. She summons her keyblade as well and in a few quick strides joins you standing between the two wielders, who lower their keyblades slightly. A few more passers-by pause as they cross the fountain plaza to watch and you feel their eyes on you.

“Who are you?” the boy on your right demands. “Which Union do you belong to?”

Skuld rounds on him. “It doesn’t matter. Our only enemy is darkness.” She gestures to his keyblade. “Our keyblades aren’t meant to harm one another!”

Behind the two of you, the other boy says, “Anyone who tries to steal the light is no different than a monster of darkness!”

Skuld turns, surprised. “What?”

A girl who’s been watching the events unfold nods in agreement with the boy. “The war’s already begun,” she says, summoning her own keyblade. To your dismay, more people are nodding and readying their own keyblades, murmurs of assent rippling through the gathering crowd.

“This isn’t–” you begin, but a deep, booming voice from the other side of the plaza cuts through the murmuring.

“That’s right.” An almost impossibly tall robed figure approaches the fountain where you’re gathered. A bear mask – this is Master Aced. The last time you saw him had been on the rooftops when he was fighting your own Union leader. “We can only place trust in our own Unions; we cannot tell who has fallen into darkness with a mere glance,” Master Aced continues. “Why do you fight over Lux? Light is not proof of strength. Victory is proof of strength. And a strong Union is proof of justice.”

Beside you, Skuld bristles at his words and steps forward, fist clenched tight around the handle of her keyblade. “What?”

Master Aced towers over her and you can feel his glare even under that bear mask of his. Skuld stands defiant, as though daring him to repeat his statement. “Do you disagree?” he asks her. “Aren’t you one of Ava’s chosen wielders? One of the Dandelions? You, of all people, should be able to see that she’s using her special Union to demonstrate her power.”

Skuld’s confident demeanor seems to deflate out of her slightly and she looks down, conflicted. You put a hand on her shoulder and step forward. “I don’t belong to the Dandelions,” you say. “And I don’t believe a strong Union is proof of justice. I think that anyone who stops fighting the darkness to fight their fellow wielders is making a mistake.”

Master Aced tilts his head to study you. “Which Union do you belong to?”

“Anguis.” Your chin juts out as you answer. Who is this foreteller to say that there  _ should  _ be a war? But in a moment the defiance is replaced with shock as Master Aced summons his keyblade, a huge weapon that seems almost as long as you are tall. 

“Stand ready,” he says, bringing his keyblade up in front of him. 

The crowd of people that has gathered is backing away from the two of you, though Skuld and Chirithy remain nearby. You bring your keyblade forward to grip with both hands. If he wants a fight, he’ll get it. Who is this foreteller to pit his Union against the others with claims of wielders falling to darkness? You nod to your friends. “Get back,” you say, and adjust your stance for better balance. Skuld hesitates, studying your expression carefully, but she picks up your Chirithy and falls back to stand a short distance away.

Master Aced waits for you to make the first move. He’s easily a whole head taller than you are, and the sheer bulk of his frame does little to make you feel emboldened. Your keyblade seems like a tiny stick compared to his behemoth of a weapon. Your hands shake and the noise of the crowd seems to fall away. Raise your weapon. Lunge– feint to the left. Now strike–!

Without hardly seeming to move at all, Master Aced swats away your keyblade like you’re no more than a mildly irritating fly. Metal clangs against metal and your ears ring with the sound, your wrists straining as your keyblade bounces back towards you. Without hardly taking time to think you dart forward again, hoping your smaller frame will give you the speed needed to get past his defences, but his keyblade is there in the way again and you’re pushed backwards, feet sliding against the cobblestone streets. So much strength, and he’s not even using both hands to hold his keyblade like you are. You raise a hand to your face to wipe away the sweat. Don’t let him get to you. Try again.

You move as though you’re about to take another swipe at him from the left, but at the last moment take a step backwards and call “ _ Wind!” _ , kicking up a whirlwind of dust and debris. You crouch low to take a swing at Master Aced’s side while he’s distracted. He blocks, but just barely, and with the hilt of his keyblade rather than the blade. You lunge forwards again to press your advantage but Master Aced recovers quicker than you expected and forces you backwards once more. He raises his keyblade high overhead and brings it down with enormous force onto the cobblestone streets, and for a moment you think you’re safe – you were too far back to be reached, even by his long blade, but then the ground under you jolts upwards and you’re knocked off your feet, flung into the air by the earth magic. You hit the cobblestones hard, releasing your keyblade so you can break your fall.

Master Aced advances, seeming almost to glow red with power, and you lunge towards your keyblade to pick it up again, scrambling to get back to your feet. He raises his keyblade above his head once more and this time you’re still in range, it’s going to come down right over your head and crack your skull clear open–

“Reflega!” you call desperately and the crystal cage you summon around yourself explodes instantly as it meets the force of Master Aced’s keyblade, barely staggering him but at least protecting you from the force of the blow. The glass-like shards make delicate tinkling noises as they fall to the cobblestones and vanish. You try to take advantage of the opening and cast Fission Firaga, launching a ball of fire towards him which explodes when it hits its target. You take a moment to shield your eyes from the blast – a mistake.

With a cry of anger and a movement you didn’t see, suddenly you find yourself thrown off your feet again, great boulders bursting forth from the ground and hurling you upwards until you slam against the ground with alarming force, your keyblade torn from your hands. And then as you struggle to raise your head you feel someone else’s hands on your shoulders, helping to support you, and you look up to see Skuld crouching beside you, your Chirithy at her side.

“You’re not worthy of the Keyblade,” Master Aced growls, swinging his keyblade ferociously in front of himself. Skuld flinches slightly but it doesn’t seem like he's about to attack again. The taste of blood and dirt is sour in your mouth and a bone-weary ache makes its way throughout your body now that the adrenaline is wearing off. 

“That’s enough, Aced.” This voice you don’t recognize – it comes from behind the crowd, and you turn to see another masked foreteller approaching. This figure is nearly as large as Master Aced and bears the mask of a Unicorn. This is Ephemer and Skuld’s Union leader, Master Ira.

“Ira.” Master Aced’s low voice carries a hint of malice towards his fellow foreteller. Master Ira comes to stand as a barrier between you and Master Aced.

“You bring harm to a keyblade wielder and call yourself a Master?” Master Ira says, gesturing towards you. Skuld’s hands are warm on your shoulder as she examines a freshly forming bruise, her lips pursed and her brows drawn together. Your eyes meet Master Aced’s and you stare back unblinkingly, even as a drop of sweat or perhaps blood slides down your cheek. Hurt, yes. But not defeated. Not yet. 

Master Aced dismisses his keyblade with a “hmph” and a flick of his wrist. “It was merely a test.”

Master Ira takes a step closer to him. “Was it? Your hostility is why I’m here.”

“The war is coming. Invi, Gula, Ava, and even you, Ira – your Unions are all scrambling to gather more Lux than any other.” Master Aced gestures to the crowd still gathered around, many with keyblades drawn. “Look around you,” he says. “The strife has already begun, and you four have done nothing but fuel the flame.”

You imagine that if you could have seen Master Ira’s face beneath his mask, he would have been raising an eyebrow. “And you elect to resolve this with brute force?” he asks.

“Ultimately, the strong determine the world’s future,” Master Aced says. “While others gather Lux, I will recruit a legion. Backed by a powerful organization, a single leader can maintain the world’s balance. The four of you will be banished, and I will lead the Unions in your stead.” He slams one fist into the other to emphasize his point. 

Master Ira flinches very slightly at this. “You’re a fool to think you have that kind of power,” he says, a kind of quiet fury in his voice. “You overestimate yourself.”

The other foreteller turns around and summons a portal of light. With a glance back at Master Ira, he says, “Then let’s settle this on the battlefield!” before disappearing through the portal. 

This seems to signal to the gathered crowd that it’s time to leave, and they begin to disperse, heading home or out on other errands. Master Ira stands in front of you still, staring after the place where his fellow foreteller had disappeared.

“Master Ira,” Skuld says, still kneeling beside you, one hand on your shoulder. Her Union leader turns to face her. “What did he mean about settling things on the battlefield? What’s going to happen?”

Master Ira lets out a humourless chuckle. “What fate intended.”

“So Master Ava was telling the truth.” It’s clear Skuld takes no joy in stating this fact.

Master Ira nods. “Yes. The war is inevitable.”

“How can it be inevitable?" You can’t help yourself from interrupting. "Everyone who decides to participate gets to make that choice for themselves. There wouldn’t have to be a war.”

Skuld nods and gets to her feet beside you. “Master Ava said there would be no winners. So why fight?”

Master Ira turns around, as though he can’t stand to face the two of you. “To make certain… there are no winners.” He summons a light portal just as Master Aced had before him. “Prepare yourselves.” And with that, he’s gone as well and it’s just you and Skuld and Chirithy left in the fountain plaza.

A wave of exhaustion comes over you and the arm you’d been using to support yourself suddenly gives in and you fall back against the cobblestones. Skuld calls your name in alarm and is crouching by your side in an instant. You feel the touch of Chirithy’s soft paws but you’re just so… so tired... maybe if you could just take a small nap… 

You open your eyes and find yourself in a great plain, stretching out flat and far to the distance. Strange flat rock structures jut up in odd places, and there seem to be unusual sticks growing out of the ground, or perhaps they’re trees… wait, that’s wrong. As you look, you see that what you’d taken to be plants are instead hundreds upon thousands of keyblades, many stuck in the earth upright, some lying lifeless on the packed dirt, some broken and twisted, their teeth chipped and their handles marred by scratches.

“Is this…?” The question comes to your lips, half-formed, but dies away as you notice dark shapes gathering in the rows between the fallen keyblades. Who…?

The figures loom closer and you can’t make out eyes or expressions, just masses upon masses of faceless shadows approaching slowly. You take a step backwards, not sure where to look, they’re closing in on all sides, what is going  _ on–  _

And then the scene shifts. The faceless figures are gone, and a clear, pure light falls onto the ground at your feet almost like a stage spotlight. You look up.  _ Is that…? _

_...Kingdom Hearts? _

  
  


“Will they be all right?” Your Chirithy paces at your windowsill. 

“It was pretty rough.” Skuld is sitting on the chair by your bedside looking for something to do with her hands and, finding nothing, begins to twirl a long strand of dark hair around her finger. 

“Thanks for being here, Skuld.”

She smiles faintly and shakes her head. “You don’t need to thank me. I just can’t believe how bad things have gotten. Everywhere I go, people are arguing with each other.”

Chirithy turns to stare out the window, their ears drooping. “I know…”

Skuld sighs. “Even the Masters – Well, we all saw what happened.”

Chirithy resumes their pacing along your windowsill. “They used to work together, but now… I don’t know how or why, but somehow, things changed.”

Skuld drops her hand to her lap, letting the strand of hair she’d been toying with fall over her shoulder once more. “Then I suppose there really is no escaping the war.”

“Have you…” From over on the bed, you suddenly begin to speak, and both Skuld and Chirithy’s gazes turn to you, Chirithy letting out a little “Oh!” of relief. 

“You’re awake!” Skuld says, hopping off her chair and hovering over by the bed. “What a relief.”

“Have you heard anything from Ephemer yet?” you continue, sitting up.

You turn to look at Skuld, but she shakes her head. “Not yet. I know he’s somewhere out there, carrying out Master Ava’s wishes. I’m sure we’ll see him soon.” She sits down on the bed by your feet. “Maybe he’s even with Master Ava herself.”

“We still don’t know where she is?” you ask, worried.

“No. The longer she’s gone the more the Dandelions are losing their focus, and it worries me. You’d think it would be easier to convince people that a war is coming, what with all the arguments and little fights that keep breaking out, but a lot of them don’t believe me.”

You turn to look at your Chirithy. “Do you know anything about this?” you ask. “Where has Master Ava gone?”

Chirithy gives a little hop and paces to the other end of your windowsill. “No one’s seen her around lately. But maybe Master Gula knows something. The two of them were close.”

“Then let’s go talk to him.” You swing your feet over the end of your bed as if to get up and Chirithy disappears into a cloud of white only to reappear on your lap. 

“No, you need to rest!” They say, looking up anxiously at you. 

You sigh and pat them on the head, then pick them up and place them on the bed beside you before standing. “There’s no time, Chirithy. You’ve seen how bad things are getting. We might not be able to rest, not until we’re sure everything will be all right.”

Skuld nods and gets to her feet beside you. “You’re right,” she says. “I’m ready.”

Chirithy looks down at the ground, ears drooping. “But…”

You crouch down and try to give your companion a reassuring smile. “It’s all right, Chirithy.”

“If you say so…” Chirithy says, but hops off the bed to follow the two of you. Skuld tries not to stare too much at the bruises already staining the skin on your shoulders and arms. She’d done her best with a Cure spell, but healing spells are meant to close wounds, not erase injuries. Things like bruises and broken bones still require rest, like a regular injury. 

“Do you know where we can find Master Gula?” you ask as the three of you exit your house.

Chirithy nods. “I’ve heard he’s been seen around a house on the other end of town. People say he’s seen there more often than the tower”

“Then we’ll go there. Come on.”

* * *

  
  


“Is it around here?” you ask Chirithy as the three of you make your way across another bridge, approaching the far end of town. 

Chirithy nods. “Yes, there should be a house around here…” They turn their head this way and that, examining the doorways you pass. “Ah, it’s that one!”

You and Skuld approach the house with some apprehension. It looks much like the other houses on this street, though perhaps with a bit of an air of disrepair about it. The windows are dark, covered from inside.

“You’re sure this is it?” you ask, looking down at your companion.

Chirithy nods. “I am, but I’m not sure if Master Gula will be here still.”

Skuld steps boldly forward and seizes the door handle. “Let’s find out.”

The door is unlocked, though that hardly matters to a pair of keyblade wielders like yourselves. The light from the doorway seems to be the only light in this place at all. Any other windows you can see appear to be covered or boarded up.

“It’s awfully quiet,” Skuld says, hesitating a moment before stepping over the threshold. You follow and take a step to the side to allow the light from the doorway to illuminate some of your surroundings. As your eyes adjust, you can make out a table in the center of the room, and some barrels that are lined up along the wall. You take a few tentative steps inside towards the table.

“Looking for someone?”

You freeze, alarmed that you hadn’t noticed the person who spoke from so nearby. Out of the shadows comes a… boy. He’s only about your height, and judging by his frame and the sound of his voice, he doesn’t appear to be far in age, either. The faint light glints off of his leopard mask.

Chirithy gives a soft gasp, still over by the doorway. “Master Gula!”

The Union leader smirks and glances between you and Skuld. “Wielders not out collecting Lux,” he says. “That must make you Dandelions.”

Skuld nods, but doesn’t move any closer. You consider taking a few steps back to the doorway, towards the light and safety, but stand your ground for now. “That’s right,” Skuld says, and Gula nods in response.

“Are you looking for Ava?”

“We are.” 

“Why?”

You’re taken aback by the abruptness of his question. Shouldn’t it be obvious why the Dandelions might want to find their leader? 

Master Gula takes a few steps closer to the table where you’re standing and you’re struck by how young he seems. The same age or within a year’s difference of Master Ava, you’d say. Not that it’s easy to tell for sure when they all hide their faces beneath masks. 

He continues, “You want to ask her if she can do something so we can avoid the war? Not even she has the power to do that. Or do you plan on asking her what’s going on? Knowing won’t change anything. There’s nothing you can do.”

You wonder why he’s staying here in this dark house and not up at the tower, but perhaps the other Union Leaders are unhappy with him too. There never seems to be an end to the conflicts. 

“Even if there’s nothing we can do to prevent the war,” you say, “I still want to know what’s going on so I can do what I can to ensure we lose the smallest number of people possible.”

“That’s right,” Skuld says, coming to stand next to you. “I can’t just sit back and wait for the end to come. I need to warn people what’s coming. That’s my role as a Dandelion.”

Master Gula lets out what sounds almost like a laugh, though there’s no humour in it. “I can see why she chose you,” he says to Skuld. “You’re just like her. Always doing the right thing. But doing the right thing can’t change the world. Only the Master has that kind of power.”

You and Skuld exchange a glance. “The Master?” Skuld asks. You remember something about this… a conversation you once had with Ephemer… you remember him mentioning a “Master of Masters” who was the leader of the foretellers. But if you recall correctly, no one’s seen him in ages; even before you became a keyblade wielder.

Master Gula gestures towards Chirithy. “Chirithy must’ve told you about him. The five of us foretellers were disciples to the Master of Masters. If anyone has a shot at changing anything, it’s him.”

“Why didn’t you go to him first?” you ask, frustrated. “If he’s got so much power, why have things gotten this bad?”

“I agree,” Skuld says. “Where can we find him?”

The foreteller shrugs. “I knew you’d ask. But I don’t know where he went. He just disappeared one day.” He turns away, as though lost in thought. “Me and Ava searched for him, but he vanished without a trace. There’s only one person who might know where he is–” He looks back at the two of you. “–Luxu.” 

Chirithy makes a sound of astonishment. “Master Luxu?”

Now this is a name you’ve truly never heard of before. You and Skuld turn to Chirithy. “You know who that is?” you ask.

Chirithy nods. “The Master of Master’s sixth disciple. After the Master disappeared, so did Master Luxu.”

Skuld purses her lips and lets out a deep sigh, twirling her hair around her fingers. “So you don’t know where Master Luxu is either?”

“I knew that was coming too,” Gula says, and you turn back to him. He seems to smirk at Skuld. “You really are just like Ava.”

Skuld pulls at a strand of hair with somewhat unnecessary force. “Then, Master Ava is–”

“Looking for Luxu? Yeah. In order to find the Master.”

“So where is she?”

Master Gula shrugs. “‘Imbalance observed, strength misplaced, a future filled with sorrow. Words of truth misunderstood as they explore the secret of tomorrow,’” he quotes.

Skuld frowns. “What’s that from?”

“The Lost Page,” Master Gula says casually. “I’d been trying to figure out who it points to.”

“A lost page from the Book of Prophecies? Why are you telling us this?” you ask, wishing not for the first time that the foretellers didn’t wear masks so you could read Master Gula’s expression. 

“The traitor is the catalyst for the events that lead to the world’s end,” he says nonchalantly.

Skuld gasps and Chirithy says, “What?!”

“I thought I knew who it was, but I couldn’t stop them.” He shrugs again. “And who knows? I could’ve been wrong.”

Skuld tucks the strand of hair behind her ear, head tilted in thought. “‘Words of truth misunderstood as they explore the secret of tomorrow,’” she quotes. “What could it mean?”

“There’s more,” Master Gula says, pulling out the lone chair at the table to sit. “‘With a single strike, toll the bells and herald the end… bringing war upon us, as fate did intend.’”

After all the trouble you and Ephemer and Skuld had gone through to even discover that a war was foretold, it seems odd that a foreteller would just give this sort of information away. “Are you allowed to tell us about such a significant passage from the Book?”

He smirks. “No.” He rests his elbows casually against the table, leaning across it as though he’s curious about your reaction. “But does it even matter? Knowing what I told you won’t change anything.”

From the distance comes a loud clanging sound you’ve never heard before. It sounds like… is the clock tower actually chiming? It’s never done that; never acted like an actual clock before. You and Skuld exchange a worried glance.

“And there it is,” Master Gula says, sounding unsurprised.

“The bells…” Skuld says quietly. 

Master Gula leans back in his chair again. “You should go back. Your Union leaders will probably call for an assembly.”

Skuld looks between you and your Chirithy. “We… we’ll do that, Master Gula. Thank you for your time.” She nods to you and you back out of the room, towards the familiar bright streets of Daybreak Town.

  
  
  


_ It’s not over. It’s just not. _

“Does this mean…” You struggle for words, not wanting to put a voice to your worries. “Does this mean it’s starting now? The war?”

No, it can’t be starting. Not now. Not after all the work you’ve done trying to prevent it. Not now, when you haven’t been able to convince everyone to not participate, or to join the Dandelions. You exchange a helpless glance with Skuld. This can’t be the end. It just can’t.

“I’m not sure,” Skuld says. “I don’t think Master Gula’s lying. So I guess it depends on whether you believe the future really can be predicted.”

“I don’t know if that even matters at this point,” you say helplessly. “It seems like this war is coming anyway.”

“I have to go rejoin the Dandelions.” Skuld’s brown eyes are wide and anxious as she looks at you. “Won’t you come with me?”

“I…” You swallow. “I… need a moment.”

Skuld nods, and then she takes your hands in hers. “I understand. But, please, don’t take part in the war. I want you to come with us to the world outside. Ephemer would want that too. Think about it.” You nod. “Just… be safe,” she says, and draws you into a quick hug. She pulls back with a long exhale, nodding to herself. “Okay. I’ll see you soon.”

You watch her summon her keyblade and run off down the cobblestone streets, then you look down at your Chirithy.

“What do I do, Chirithy?” you ask, picking up your companion and cradling them in your arms. “Everything’s happening so fast. I didn’t want this.”

“‘May your heart be your guiding key,’” Chirithy quotes, and you sigh. 

“But my heart is breaking in two. I don’t want to abandon the other wielders to the war, but I can’t stand the thought of never seeing Skuld and Ephemer again.” You hold Chirithy out to meet their eyes. “As my friend, what do  _ you _ think I should do?”

Chirithy’s ears droop. “I don’t want you to fight,” they say finally. “I know the foretellers didn’t intend for us to be friends, and it might be against the rules, but here we are. And, as your friend, I don’t want you to disappear.”

You nod and hug them close to your chest. “Thank you. I... I think I know what I’ll do.”

“Oh?” sneers a voice from some way down the street. “Not taking part in the fun?”

You and Chirithy startle and exchange a look. You set them down before running up the stairs towards the source of the voice, near an underpass. 

“Are you gonna become a Dandelion and fly away?” The voice is syrupy sweet and horribly familiar. You scan the area and then you see them – that dark Chirithy you and Skuld came across those few months ago, back when the foretellers were fighting.

“Stop it,” you say, turning back to your own Chirithy thinking you’ll just pick them up and go. “The Dandelions aren’t running away. And I don’t have to listen to this.”

“ _ Riiight, _ ” the dark Chirithy says, drawing out the word, “they’re keeping light alive by passing it down to future wielders. It sounds noble, but aren’t they really just leaving their friends behind?”

You’ve taken one step back already but then you stop, hating yourself for listening but also dying to know where this sinister creature comes from. “Who are you?” you ask, turning to look at them again.

“Before we get to that,” the dark Chirithy says, gesturing to you, “did you know that with that bangle of yours, you’ve not only been collecting dark energy, but using it for your own needs?”

“What?” you say, looking down at the bangle you wear for missions. Chirithy gave it to you, a long time ago, saying it would help you collect dark energy to turn it into light.

“That bangle gave you strength,” the strange Chirithy continues, taking a few steps towards you. “Didn’t you ever wonder where that was coming from?”

It’s true the bangle helps power up your keyblade so your attacks are stronger and you can take on more powerful Heartless. “That’s… because it transforms the dark energy we collect from defeating Heartless into light,” you say, hating the twinge of doubt that creeps into your voice.

“I don’t believe you,” Chirithy says beside you, and you’re glad to have a friend here.

“Don’t look so worried,” the dark Chirithy says, shrugging nonchalantly. “Our Master wanted you to use that dark energy, don’t you know?”

“You’re wrong,” Chirithy says, trembling slightly next to you. You put a comforting hand on their head.

“Then why am I here?” the dark Chirithy asks. “Why do I exist? The Master knew all along what would happen.”

Chirithy says nothing and you tug at the top of their little cape collar. “We should just go,” you say, turning around, but then in a cloud of purple not unlike the clouds the Heartless vanish into when they’re defeated, the dark Chirithy reappears on the roof of a house in front of you. 

“Now, to answer your question from before…” they say in that same saccharine voice that’s so unlike your companions, “I was born from your darkness. I belong to you.”

Your heart freezes in your chest.

“That’s not true!” Chirithy shouts, indignant, and you’re grateful once again for their presence. 

“Why would I lie about this? I suppose that unlike Chirithy there, I’m not always by your side, and I act of my own will.” There’s a light from behind you and you turn to see a portal open up and more of those… those  _ things _ with the clawed hands and the blank yellow eyes pour out. The things that the dark Chirithy had said were once keyblade wielders.

“What are you doing?” Chirithy cries in alarm, and you step forwards to put yourself between the creatures and Chirithy, summoning your keyblade.

“Since you’re not participating in the war,” the dark Chirithy says, “I’ll show you a dream you’ll never forget.”

_ What? _ You glance back briefly at the dark Chirithy but keep an eye on the dark creatures, the ‘darklings’ as you’re coming to think of them. 

“No!” your Chirithy cries, turning back to their dark counterpart. “If you do belong to my wielder, then why are you doing this?”

“Unlike you Spirits, we Nightmares exist to plant bad dreams. That’s how we sever our bond and gain freedom.”

Would it be possible to have both a Spirit Chirithy and a Nightmare Chirithy at the same time? Could this Chirithy possibly belong to you? You shake the thoughts from your head. “Stay behind me, Chirithy,” you say to your companion, eyeing the darklings. 

The closest one lunges forwards and you slash at it in the air, catching it in the stomach and throwing it off to the side. The next two line themselves up to charge at you one after the other and you duck so that the first flies overhead and swat away the second with another swing of your blade. For supposedly being stronger they’re not particularly coordinated. You keep yourself between Chirithy and the threats, throwing off their attacks but also reluctant to  _ really _ hurt them in case what the dark Chirithy said was true and these really were former keyblade wielders, corrupted by darkness. 

One of the darklings, seeming to notice how you’re protecting Chirithy, lunges for your companion and you react with a panicked “Thundaga!”, electrifying the air and striking the three darklings so they fall flat to the ground.

“No!” cries the dark Chirithy from the rooftop before disappearing and reappearing in the middle of the three fallen darklings. Then they seem to regain their composure and laugh at the fallen creatures. “You’ve gotten stronger,” they say. “I’m impressed.”

“Somehow that doesn’t feel like a compliment,” you say through gritted teeth, keyblade still raised. 

“Well that was just a warm-up,” the dark Chirithy says, and the fallen darklings are levitated in the air as though a great invisible hand has plucked them off the ground. You take a few steps backwards as the dark Chirithy rises into the air as well and the sky seems to darken as great dark portals appear around each of the darklings’ bodies before they merge into the dark Chirithy, whose form explodes from the portal, a great beast-like form with fanged teeth and giant, skeletal wings. 

“Chirithy…!” you cry, trying to shield your friend as the beast lunges forwards, slashing at you with a claw bigger than your whole torso. Chirithy vanishes not a moment too soon and you roll out of the way of the attack, scrambling to your feet to face it again. Though the creature is hunched over, you can see a black, twisting symbol emblazoned across the fur on its chest, much like the one on Chirithy’s back but with spiky lines and jagged edges. This must be the symbol of a Nightmare.

The beast slashes at you again, one claw after the other, and for a split second as you raise your keyblade to block the attack you have a vision of its claw slicing cleanly through the metal as if it were ribbon, but the magic weapon meets the claw head-on with an eerie screech, stopping it from slicing through your head but not stopping it from sliding down the blade towards your hands on the hilt. You swing your weapon down quickly to throw off the beast’s claw and skitter to the side to avoid its next lunge.

An opening – the creature’s lunge takes it further past you than it had anticipated and you dash forward to strike, drawing your keyblade across one of those horrible, claw-like wings that resemble what used to be hands on the darklings. It  _ shrieks _ as the wing crumples and spins around, one of its great arms catching you in your side and throwing you off your feet, palms scraping against the cobblestone streets as you try to break your fall. And then before you can get up, a series of dark pools open up in the air around you, great dark portals from which thornlike red tendrils snake out, wrapping around your legs, your arms, biting into your flesh as they slide across your skin, binding you. You struggle, keyblade stuck against your body by the tendrils and it  _ hurts _ there’s a piercing pain somewhere by your leg and you feel your body suddenly freeze up, your muscles refusing to cooperate, and the tendrils drag you back towards that great ugly beast and you can’t move, can’t turn to see what’s happening, move move  _ move _ –! The beast crashes into your side and you’re sent flying across the streets. The tendrils vanish but your body won’t respond and your chin skids across the stones helplessly, scraping along your jaw so hard it feels like you’ve skinned it to the bone. You land in a crumpled heap some distance away and regain the use of your body. Whatever those tendrils did it’s causing your left leg to feel nearly useless and a wave of nausea almost makes you vomit on the stones in front of you but you master it, fear and adrenaline helping you get to your feet and raise your weapon once more. 

“You are  _ weak! _ ” The creature’s misshapen mouth struggles to form the words, spit flying as it crouches on all fours, its broken wing making it look almost spider-like. Your chest heaves from the effort of breathing but you steady your stance as much as you can and raise your keyblade shakily, crouching as though you intend to leap forward and attack.

The feint works and the beast lunges towards you, its massive claws outstretched and you cast the quickest series of spells you think you’ve ever managed in your life – the result is a reflect spell that explodes with the force of a meteor hitting earth, the enclosed firaga spell blossoming upwards in a mushroom cloud as it engulfs with the great beast, throwing it up and backwards until it hits the side of the underpass and crumples to the streets.

You cough and lower your arms from your face that you’d raised to protect yourself from the furious ball of fire you’d summoned, keyblade dropping to the ground with a clang as you fall to your knees and vomit onto the cobblestones, the pain in your leg so overwhelming it’s causing your vision to blur and darken at the edges. You cough and wipe the blood and sweat from your face to see the great beast enveloped in a purple light, transforming it back into the tiny familiar form of a Chirithy, though it retains its sinister colouring.

Still panting, you pick up your keyblade once more. “ _ Esuna, _ ” you say feebly, clutching the handle close. Relief washes over you as the pain in your leg subsides and you run a hand along your jaw, feeling the crust of recent blood but, thankfully, not the sting of raw skin thanks to your healing spell. You’ll need to properly heal it later but you can’t muster the energy at the moment. 

Chirithy reappears next to you and you crawl towards the diminutive form of dark Chirithy, whose outline seems to blur with a purplish black smoke that’s rising towards the sky, almost as though they’re drifting apart.

“Our bond’s been severed,” they say with great effort, tiny chest rising and falling while their red eyes stare unseeing at the sky.

“Will you disappear?” you ask quietly, thinking of the conversation you’d had with your own Chirithy not long ago.

“For now,” the dark Chirithy says. There’s a horrible sort of rattling sound coming from their throat with each breath. “I’ll see you… in another dream.”

“Another dream…?” Chirithy says beside you, but it’s too late – the dark Chirithy’s form swirls and disperses into the dark smoke, rising up into the air until it’s no longer visible at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is, the penultimate chapter of this fic! Stay tuned next week for the finale, and perhaps a new chapter of the next item in the series...? ;)
> 
> I had fun writing the fight scenes for this; I used to struggle with writing these sorts of things but I think writing this fic definitely helped me improve on it. It's an interesting challenge trying to come up with ways to describe keyblade fights without it just being like "and then you smacked them a few times and that was that".
> 
> And actually that reminds me, low-key I'm really hoping some of the Melody of Memory levels have like "choreographed" fight scenes that you play through via the rhythm game. It looked a bit like that with the Xemnas fight; I just think that would be really neat!
> 
> Anyway, as always you can find me over on my KH Tumblr as well if you wanna chat~ [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com)


	28. The Fight for my Friends

_ What am I doing? _

You brush your fingers over the helmet of your Union armour in your hands. The metal is untouched – you’ve never had to wear this into actual battle before. You’d hoped you’d never have to; it isn't as though you wanted this. But even if it’s just some small hope – some tiny possibility that you can stop this war – then you have to take it. All your efforts can’t be for nothing.

They just  _ can’t _ be.

You put the helmet on, fastening it over your bruised jaw, still dark with scratches your magic can’t heal. A reminder of what’s to come next. 

This was never what you wanted. 

You haven’t seen Chirithy all morning. Part of you wishes they’d appear, wants to call for them because you know they’ll come, but you know you won’t be able to face them. It’s not as though you’re planning to sacrifice yourself, but trying to find the foretellers in this state of affairs is going to be tricky if not outright dangerous. At least you know you ought to see Master Invi at the Union assembly she’s called this morning. Each keyblade wielder, including yourself, had been given a special shoulder pauldron which lets you summon your own set of keyblade armour. Presumably this is in preparation for what’s about to occur.

Your breath echoes off the inside of the helmet, though it’s designed so you can see out it well and sits comfortably over your face. You clench your fist, and the distinct metallic crunching noise your armour makes as your gauntlets move is odd and unfamiliar. Time to go.

When you reach the meeting point, you’re met with a sea of other keyblade wielders clad in armour like you are. The numbers seem endless, stretching across this vast, barren plain. As you join the throng you’re struck by how dehumanizing the helmets are. The visor completely masks any expression at all, and the wielders’ eyes behind the tinted glass could be looking at anything. You don’t recognize anyone in this mass of identical Union armour. The thought of looking like one of many identical soldiers is disquieting and you pull your helmet off again, shaking out your hair. 

People are whispering to each other but you only catch small glimpses of their conversations as you push through, trying to pinpoint where the front of the crowd is since that’s where you’re likely to see Master Invi. 

“...Did you hear the clock tower bell ringing before? I wonder what that was…”

“...heard that Master Aced declared war on the other Unions…”

“...I was told that Master Ava betrayed the foretellers…”

“...been stealing our Lux, we can’t…”

“...erase the darkness in this world, even if it means other wielders…”

Some people part to let you pass but many others don’t. All you can see when they look at you is your own reflection in their armour visors.

At last you reach the end of the crowd. Just up ahead a ways stands Master Invi, and now that your line of sight isn’t obscured by dozens of keyblade wielders, you can see that some ways in the distance the other Unions have gathered, headed by the foretellers. That’s… Master Gula, and Master Aced… you can’t see if Master Ira or Master Ava are here as well. Master Ava ought to be guiding the Dandelions. Maybe she’s even speaking with Ephemer, helping the Dandelions make their escape. 

Ephemer… your hand moves to your chest, to the familiar pendant that hangs there by your collarbone, but you end up grasping at the front of your armour instead. You can feel its weight against your chest, inaccessible but comforting nonetheless. You place your hand over your heart instead.

“May my heart be my guiding key…” you murmur to yourself, trying to settle your racing thoughts. You look to the sky, wondering if your friends know you’re thinking of them. It’s slate-grey and covered in clouds that threaten rain. What fitting weather for a day like today.

You turn and begin pushing your way along the crowd again towards Master Invi, who stands alone several feet in front of her Union. You’re not sure if everyone is too nervous to approach her or if it’s not allowed at all but you push forwards anyway until you’re at the head of the crowd.

Master Invi’s back is to you, her robes blowing in the wind. “Master Invi,” you call, taking a few tentative steps forward. Your voice is swallowed up by the conversations of your Union. “Master Invi!” 

She turns, keyblade in hand, and studies you. Feeling horribly small, you swallow and continue. “Why have you brought us here? Why are we fighting?”

She says nothing for some time and her expression behind the snake mask is completely unreadable. You wonder if she intends to answer at all or if she’ll simply turn around and ignore you, but then she says, “Aced’s Union has fallen to darkness. He intends to subjugate all the other Unions and rule them himself. In their desire to keep balance, the other Unions have lost their way as well. We cannot allow this darkness to go unchecked.”

“But why fight? Why not walk away from this?”

Her fingers stiffen around her keyblade handle. “You think me a coward, someone to run away from trouble like a frightened child? I am not like Ava, gathering a pretty group of chosen wielders to flee with their tails between their legs. I will fight for a better future. I will stamp out the darkness so we can start afresh or I will vanish fighting for a cause I believe in.”

“Running isn’t cowardice,” you call, taking a step forward. “Sometimes it’s necessary to solve a conflict, or to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.”

Master Invi shakes her head. “If running from this war were an option,” she says, a hint of… regret? in her voice, “I would have run a long time ago. I’m afraid not every conflict has an ideal solution.”

And with that she turns again, just as another group of wielders marches forth from the right. A fox insignia… these are Master Ava’s wielders, from Union Vulpes. And there’s the foreteller herself, head held high as she strides across the plains.

“Aced!” she calls, her voice ringing loudly across the desolate landscape despite her tiny frame. “I hear you intend to fight the other Unions. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“You know nothing!” Master Aced roars, leading his own Union forward. For all the power and dignity Master Ava’s voice carries, Master Aced’s voice carries in raw strength. “Our Master has abandoned us. We need a unifying figure to prevent wielders from going astray.”

“Then you are a fool.” The voice this time is from further away, and you can make out Master Ira’s distinct Unicorn mask. “Subjugating everyone under one leader won’t solve the strife that’s been born from our mistrust.”

“ _ You _ brought this upon us from the start!” Master Aced retaliates, his great hands in fists. “If you had been a better leader, none of this would have happened. If I have to take matters into my own hands, then I will!”

“He’s right, you know.” Master Gula approaches on Master Ira’s other side. “You did a pretty bang-up job of this whole leader thing.” Master Ira rounds on him but he simply shrugs. “We’re not going to solve this by arguing. Let your Union do the talking for you. Show me what you can do.”

Master Aced lunges towards Master Gula, his huge keyblade seeming to move the air itself aside with its size and speed. Behind him, his Union takes this as a cue to engage Union Leopardus, charging forward with battle cries. 

“You will regret this, Aced!” Master Invi shouts and she too lunges forward, leading your fellow Union members to launch an attack on Union Ursus. Armour-clad wielders surge past you and you’re buffeted this way and that as you struggle to call out to your fellow wielders to stop them, tell them to use their heads, anything…!

The sky opens up and drops of rain begin to fall, obscuring the horizon in a haze of mist and bouncing off everyone’s keyblade armour with noisy  _ splick _ sounds. The clang of metal against metal fills your ears. “No!” you cry, reaching out to the wielders charging past you, but it’s no use. Battle cries and shouts of pain drown out your voice as you try to call out.

_ This isn’t how it’s supposed to go! _

Desperately you begin to run, swept along by your Union towards the center of the battlefield. You spot a group of wielders in Union Vulpes armour and change direction to run towards them, hoping to find Master Ava. Surely she can see that this needs to stop.

You’re suddenly pitched forward as something causes you to lose your footing and you hit the ground on your hands and knees. You look up to see another keyblade wielder re-summoning their keyblade back to their hand. Vulpes armour. So they’re not of your Union.

“Stand and fight!” they shout, voice muffled by their helmet. You shake your head and scramble to your feet, making your way towards where you think Master Ava might be. You won’t do it, you won’t raise your keyblade against a fellow wielder. Not like this.

You start to doubt which direction you should go after you have to change your course several times to avoid being drawn into a fight. The ground beneath your feet is muddy with the footprints of hundreds of wielders. 

“You!” The voice is commanding and you turn immediately to see Master Aced a short ways away. He makes his way purposefully across the battlefield and brings his massive keyblade down in an arc to point at you. You flinch, remembering the beating you took the last time you fought him. 

“I deemed you unworthy,” he says, and you marvel at the strength he must have to hold such a huge weapon steady with his arm outstretched like that. 

Well, there’s no help for it. If Master Aced is going to stand in your way, then… “I have somewhere to be,” you say, summoning Starlight to your side. You clutch the weapon with both hands in front of you. “You’re in my way.”

“Ha!” Master Aced lets out a deep, booming laugh. “What you lack in potential, I see you make up for in courage.” He swings his keyblade and grips it with both hands like you. “I could use someone like you in my Union.”

You hold your blade as steady as you can manage, hoping he’ll step aside – but the choice to refrain from battle is abruptly taken away from you as Master Aced charges up some sort of attack, then surges at you with a speed that belies his massive frame. A shocked gasp escapes your lips and you raise your keyblade to block, “Refl–!” but you don’t get the words out and his keyblade comes crashing down on yours with enough force to shatter bones, enough force to split your blade clean in two if it weren’t magical. You tumble backwards, sliding along the mud, and then you’re flung upwards as the earth bursts forth from under you, tossing you into the air. Your armour pinches and pulls at your skin but protects you from the direct blows, and you manage to land awkwardly into a roll and stand up again. 

Master Aced isn’t about to let up – he charges up another attack, but this time you’re ready. He raises his keyblade, about to bring it crashing down on your head once more. You take a steadying breath, ignoring the rain falling in your eyes, your mud-stained armour, the clang of keyblades clashing, the cries of other wielders. Master Aced’s massive keyblade seems to descend in slow motion as you wait for just this moment –  _ now! _

The instant before Master Aced’s keyblade collides with your skull a feeling of weightlessness descends over you and you step sideways as though through a curtain, vanishing from under his keyblade and reappearing directly behind him.  _ Strike! _

Master Aced lets out a roar of pain and fury as he stumbles forward, pushing off from the ground with his free hand to regain his footing. He turns to face you again, dragging his keyblade along the ground for a moment before straightening his posture with a cruel smirk.

“How unexpected!” he says. “You’ve proven me wrong. You are indeed worthy!” He swings his huge blade once and points it at you, nearly level with your eyes. “But that also means you pose a threat.” He crouches, drawing his weapon back in preparation for another attack and you retreat a few steps. “And that is why you must disappear!” 

He slashes sideways so you bring up your keyblade to block and it’s nearly flung out of your hands with the force of his swing. You’re beginning to realize you may not have even seen a fraction of this foreteller’s strength. Another swing, and another, and it’s all you can do to bring your keyblade up to block them, your wrists aching as he forces you to hold your keyblade at odd angles to protect yourself. Another swing and you lose your footing in the mud as it forces you backwards, your foot sliding sideways and throwing you off-balance. You fling out a hand to break your fall and hit the ground awkwardly.

Aced prepares for another swing and you can’t get to your feet in time, you’ve only got one hand on your keyblade, you’re not going to be able to block this and you can’t help yourself from closing your eyes against the rain and sweat and the sight of your own doom and – 

_ Clang! _ An ear-splitting crash echoes across the battlefield. You open your eyes to see Master Ira knocking Master Aced’s keyblade away, driving him backwards. You leap to your feet and try to wipe the water out of your eyes but your armour is muddy and you end up smearing your face with it as well. 

“Ira!” Master Aced cries angrily, freeing his keyblade from beneath Master Ira’s

“This ends now,” Master Ira replies, and he lunges towards Master Aced.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment!” Master Aced blocks Master Ira’s keyblade with a sweeping stroke of his own. “I will rebuild this world as the new leader and Master!”

Master Ira parries another swing of Master Aced’s keyblade, his robes whipping around him as he jumps out of reach. “This is all your doing!” he yells. “You destroyed the balance!”

They continue to trade blows, getting further and further away and you shake your head to refocus yourself on the task at hand. Find Master Ava. 

The rain makes the air uncomfortably cool and damp, and though your armour protects you from the wetness for the most part, you can feel the chill radiating through the metal. You start to walk across the battlefield again, not in any particular direction, and are distressed to see several discarded keyblades lying on the ground or embedded in the mud. Discarded… or fallen? Are the wielders that these keyblades belong to still around?

The Union members seem to have scattered into smaller pockets dotting the battlefield as you make your way further and further along the worn muddy paths left behind by fellow wielders. There’s still time, you tell yourself. There, up further ahead. A small figure in a robe stands, watching, with their back to you. The slight fog settling on the battlefield obscures their silhouette slightly but it can’t be Master Ira or Aced, and Master Invi doesn’t have the little ears on her hood so, “Master…?” you call as you approach.

The figure turns around – a leopard mask. “Hey, it’s you,” Master Gula says in the most unusually relaxed way, as though you’re a past acquaintance he’s meeting again in a coffee shop by chance. He slings his keyblade casually over his shoulder and approaches you. The blade’s spiky design reminds you of a bolt of lightning.

He looks you up and down, his gaze lingering on the bruise along your jaw and the scratches there. “You don’t look so good,” he says. “Are you okay?”

You push your hair off your face with your rain-slick arm. “I’m fine,” you say defiantly. “Master Gula, why are you fighting? Why did you bring your Union here?”

“Why not?” he asks, shrugging, and your mouth falls open.

“People are  _ dying _ !” you cry, rage making your voice shake. “It’s not a game!”

“Never said it was. You’re here now, aren’t you? Well, here we go.” He lifts his keyblade off his shoulder and twirls it like a baton before holding it out in front of himself, readying to fight.

“What?” you ask, flabbergasted.

“You’re on a battlefield,” he says, gesturing around with his blade. “You gotta fight.”

He tosses his keyblade up in the air to himself with a flourish and before you can protest, he catches it and lunges forward with impossible speed, seeming to come from all directions at once. It’s all you can do to get off a reflect spell, but the impact is only weakened and you feel like you’ve been sandwiched between the claws of a giant beast from the front and back, knocking the wind out of you. You hit the mud hard and it sprays up around you, flecking your armour and face. And then Master Gula is back in front of you with a smirk and your reflect crackles harmlessly around you, too far to reach him.

You get to your feet, blinking rain out of your eyes and steadying your keyblade in front of you. Master Gula just stands there, his stance relaxed as though this isn’t a fight at all. He darts to the side and swings his blade at you and you leap backwards to avoid it, but the mud slides under your feet again and his next swing connects with your shoulder painfully, nearly causing you to drop your keyblade as the pain radiates down your arm.

“I thought you said you were fine?” he asks, tossing his keyblade up in the air once more, and a thought comes to mind.

“I  _ am _ fine,” you growl, gripping your keyblade with both hands again and making a clumsy lunge for him that he easily sidesteps. 

“Looks like you’re just not that good then.” He raises a hand to his chin. “Huh. I’m oddly disappointed.” He jumps forward, slashing his keyblade from side to side and you catch its teeth with your blade, letting the top slide down until it’s bending your wrists at an awkward angle and forces you to let go. Your keyblade makes a wet  _ splick _ sound as it hits the mud and Gula laughs once more, swinging his keyblade to toss to himself. “Wow, that was really your best–”

But he doesn’t get to finish the sentence, because in the moment his keyblade leaves his hand and twirls into the air you resummon yours and knock it away, unleashing a deep freeze spell onto him while he’s defenceless. Instantly he’s encased in ice from his chest to his knees, trapping his hands so he can’t summon his keyblade back. You kick at his keyblade, shoving it into the mud, and then swipe his legs out from under him. You let him crash ungracefully onto the wet earth before the blizzard magic breaks and he gets to his feet once more, his robe now streaked with mud.

“You’re a…” he spits mud out of his mouth, “...a lot tougher than I thought,” he admits, resummoning his keyblade to his side as you step back, Starlight still ready in your hands. Then he dismisses the weapon and shows his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Lucky for you, I’m not in the mood for a real fight.” You lower your keyblade cautiously, eyeing him. He simply shrugs and turns. “Maybe I’ll see you around.”

“Wait!” you shout, but he’s already off towards a throng of wielders and you lose track of his form in the growing haze from the rain. 

The pain in your shoulder really hits you then, and you look to see his keyblade has etched a line in your armour where you were struck. “ _ Heal,” _ you murmur, and the pain subsides somewhat but a dull ache remains. This isn’t… isn’t how things are supposed to go.

The rain pounds ever harder on your shoulders as you turn and continue on, trying not to see the keyblades that lie abandoned across the muddy ground. You hear a scream and turn to see an armoured figure some distance away about to bring their keyblade down on another wielder’s head. “No!” you yell, sprinting across the battlefield, but you’re too late – the keyblade slices cleanly along the wielder’s body and they vanish instantly, leaving behind only a crystalline heart that floats up to the sky. 

Your own heart catches in your throat and you freeze, unable to comprehend what you just saw. They were… that was… you look down to see the fallen wielder’s keyblade lying in the mud like so many of the others you’d passed, then back up at the murderer. “How… how could…?” but you can’t get the words out. You’re not sure if the water running down your cheeks is the rain or your own tears.

The wielder turns to you, raising their keyblade back menacingly. “Anyone who steals the light deserves as much. Which Union are you?” They look your armour up and down, recognizing the silver and pale lilac underneath its crusting of mud. “Anguis. Should’ve known. Slimy snake.”

And then they lunge forward and you swat their keyblade away, backing up further. “No! Don’t you see what you’ve done? What’s happening? This has to stop!”

“I’ll stop when the darkness is defeated!”

You can’t –  _ won’t _ hurt another wielder. Even if this wielder just struck someone down in front of you. You parry another blow from them and your bones ache with exhaustion, pleading for relief from this constant battling. “Please,” you say desperately. “I don’t want to fight, just  _ please–” _

“Shut up!” They bring their keyblade down towards you and you hook the teeth of your weapon around theirs, tugging it out of their hands and flinging it into the mud. 

“I’m not going to–”

There’s a crack and a flash of light and the wielder in front of you vanishes, their heart floating up towards the sky like their victim’s had. You scream in shock and horror and someone’s hand touches your shoulder. “It’s okay! Watch yourself though,” a female voice says.

You flinch and jump away from the wielder, who’s wearing Union Anguis armour like yourself. She waves and runs off in the other direction as though she feels she’s done you a favour. You gasp for air and drop to the ground on your knees, your head swirling with disgust and terror and sadness as you dry heave onto the muddy battlefield, unable to throw anything up but feeling like you’ve lost something deep inside. You see the wielder’s keyblade on the ground beside you and shake your head, looking away, definite tears mixing with the rain on your face this time. You shouldn’t have come here. But you did.

“It’s you,” a familiar voice says, and you look up to see the person you’ve been trying so hard to find. 

“I’ve been looking for you!” you call, getting to your feet painfully once more. “Master Ava, why are you here? I thought you’d be guiding the wielders away–”

Master Ava raises her keyblade, pointing it towards you. “Ready your blade,” she says, and her voice carries no hint of the kindness Ephemer spoke of. 

“Master Ava?” you ask, dreading this, not wanting to raise your keyblade against another person again.

She swings her keyblade back and holds it in front of herself with both hands. “I won’t ask twice.” A flash of lightning flickers overhead and she draws her keyblade back to strike. You throw your own keyblade up in front of your body and there’s a crash of thunder just as the two weapons meet. You have to use your other hand to support the end of your keyblade as you throw off her attack, exhaustion seeping into every bone in your body. The dull ache in your shoulder from your fight with Master Gula returns with a vengeance and it takes all your energy to push past it and focus on the fight at hand. 

“Why are you doing this?” you ask, each breath feeling precious as you block one attack, jump out of the way of another. 

Master Ava says nothing, and the mask over her face betrays no expression at all. It really is true what Ephemer said – there’s so much expression in the eyes. She swings at you from the side and you just barely catch the ornate tip of her blade with your own, bending your arm awkwardly to do so. She twists her weapon down and out, nicking you in your calf before you can leap backwards and it’s as though her keyblade erased all the bones in your leg as it becomes completely numb, a sack of bricks attached to your hips. You stumble and catch yourself by driving your keyblade into the mud to support your weight, leaving your side completely vulnerable in the process, a fact Master Ava takes advantage of. She casts a blizzard spell that hits you full on the hip, knocking you off your feet for real this time and causing you to slide backwards along the mud with the force of the spell. You cough and splutter as you scramble to your feet, regaining some of the feeling in your leg though it stings sharply of pins and needles.

You’re not going to last long in a fight like this if you don’t do something. There’s another flash of lightning and you see the fallen keyblades on the battlefield illuminated around you, some stuck in the mud, blade down, others lying on their sides or leaning on other keyblades. A graveyard for keyblades. Perhaps… perhaps if you could bring the fight over to one of them, maybe you could turn the tides. 

You bring your keyblade up to block Master Ava’s next attack, renewed energy flowing through you as you formulate your plan. This time you lunge for her, forcing her back, putting her on the defensive. She throws up a reflect spell and you roll away like Master Gula had, watching the spell crackle harmlessly. Draw her closer to the left. Watch your step. 

You make a calculated lunge forward, swiping your keyblade from right to left, forcing her to take another step backwards and it’s finally within reach…!

With a hard tug you wrench the fallen keyblade out of the mud and are astounded at how  _ heavy _ the weapon is, as though it’s lost all of its magic. Likely it has. It feels dull and lifeless in your off-hand as you grip it and Master Ava lets out a sort of “tch” sound when she sees what you’ve done.

“A keyblade chooses its wielder,” she says, shaking her head at you. “These have lost their wielders and so choose no one.”

“I don’t need it to choose me,” you say, gritting your teeth as you raise the lifeless keyblade to point at her. And then you dismiss your keyblade to hurl the lifeless weapon two-handed at her, forcing Master Ava to bring her own keyblade up to deflect it and you set your spell up as she’s distracted, resummoning your keyblade instantly. Now to bring her over here – but that shouldn’t be difficult. Thunder rumbles overhead. You take a few steps backwards, raise your keyblade like you’re going to cast a spell, and Master Ava takes the bait, rushing forwards to knock your blade away and  _ boom _ the seeker mines you had cast toss her up into the air as she passes over them with several tiny explosions of light. Her keyblade is knocked out of her hand and she falls back to the muddy earth, landing in an awkward crouch. Her chest rises and falls heavily and you take a step cautiously to the side, wondering if she’s had enough of the fight to call it even.

A mistake.

So fast you can’t make out the individual movements, Master Ava resummons her keyblade and her form seems to shimmer and be everywhere at once, lunging towards you with keyblade outstretched and you don’t have time to think you just bring your keyblade up in front of you to guard as much as you can and there’s a crash and a splitting pain in your side that’s on fire like you’ve been struck by lightning there, like you’re being torn in two, and you fall to your knees, your body screaming in agony. 

Master Ava stands in front of you, breathing heavily. “W-why?” you ask shakily, clutching your side, feeling like something is terribly wrong but not wanting to look to see the damage. Your body feels light and heavy at once and you start to feel vaguely as though you’re not even inhabiting it anymore as your brain attempts to comprehend the excruciating pain.

Master Ava takes a few steps towards you and you wonder if she intends to finish you off. “Some things aren’t for you to know,” she says. She raises her keyblade into the air. “ _ Curaza. _ ” 

Instantly you’re slammed back into the present, rain on your face, shoulder throbbing, your side on hot fire but not as agonizing as before. You wonder how terrible the injury had to be that even the strongest tier of healing magic can’t make it disappear entirely. Still, it’s an unexpected gesture from someone who just attempted to cut you down. You don’t feel much like thanking her.

Master Ava turns and walks a few paces away before turning to say, “Listen to me: you must join the Dandelions and go far, far away from here.” Then she leaves you there, lying in the muddy ground that’s strewn with the keyblades of your former friends. You can’t bring yourself to get up and follow her and instead curl up on the ground trying to protect your injuries, letting the rain wash over you, tired and broken and defeated. At first you think the strange shimmers you see in the distance are just some kind of illusion from the rain, but then you recognize the heart shape of one of them and realize the terrible truth. You decide to close your eyes instead.

After a few minutes or perhaps longer, you realize that there’s something pushing lightly on your arm. With what feels like enormous effort, you blink the rain out of your eyes and turn to see… “Chirithy…?”

Your companion hops closer and you reach an unsteady arm forwards to pat them on the head. “You did great,” Chirithy says. “You can rest now, okay?” They rest their tiny body on top of yours in a hug and the weight is comforting. You’re not entirely sure if they’re even really here or if exhaustion and pain are making you imagine things. You close your eyes again, just for a moment, you’re just so… tired…

The thing that makes you open your eyes again isn’t the light that’s shining down but the rain stopping. You squint into what seems to be almost a spotlight shining directly onto the area around you and growing larger with each passing second. Is this… Kingdom Hearts? 

Chirithy hops off of your chest and looks to your left as though watching someone, and you turn your head to look as well. From a little distance away comes… “Skuld…?”

Your friend smiles as she approaches you, crouching down by your side. “I’m here,” she says. She holds your hand gently and then steps back and from behind her comes…

_ Ephemer…! _

Surprise and shock and relief hit you at once and your eyes fill with unexpected tears. He looks… he looks older. You’re both older. It’s been so long, your best friend, and now he’s  _ here _ and this wasn’t how this reunion was supposed to go but a flood of emotion overwhelms you and you’re struggling to smile as tears roll down your cheeks.

You point an accusatory finger towards him. “You made.. a promise,” you say.

“I never forgot,” he says, crouching down next to you. You can see his gaze wander towards the bruise on your jaw, and the new ones you’re sure to have picked up, but he puts on a brave face for you, blue eyes shining.

You give him a watery smile. “You’re late.”

That makes him really smile a little at your terrible joke. “I know,” he says. “I’m here now.” He reaches a hand out to you. “Let’s go together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for coming with me on this journey! This is the final chapter of Sound of the Sunset, but not the final chapter in the story of you, Ephemer, and Skuld. I hope you'll join me for the continuation, which is posted at [Colors of the Sunrise](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25847869/chapters/62798620). As a bonus, the first chapter is up now~
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing these fights! I went sifting through the command decks of games like BbS and CoM to look for interesting moves to use. Gula's fight might be my favourite. I did take some liberties with the dialogue -- one, because I'm not always 100% pleased with how it sounds in English compared to the Japanese, and two because why not, my characters now ;)
> 
> If you've read this far, I'd love to know -- what was your favourite chapter? Leave a comment or let me know on my KH Tumblr [theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com](https://theworldthatneverwas.tumblr.com) :)


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